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Women's Conference In LA

R S Shankar

The organizers of the 3rd South Asian Women's Conference, to be held in Los Angeles say, as they have said many times before, that the conference is open to all.

They say that while the conference focuses on South Asian women and their experiences in North America, the presentations and discussions at the event are not confined to South Asian women.

The event is sponsored by the University of California, Los Angeles, and California State University, Northridge, and will take place on May 6, 7, 2000.

SAWC is dedicated to promoting an interactive forum for the discussion of issues relating to South Asian women globally. The 2000 SAWC format will also include workshops for the discussion of issues relevant to the immigrant and subsequent populations in the diaspora. There will also be a photographic exhibition and a film festival.

One of the key persons behind SAWC is Sangeeta Gupta, the editor of the influential and well-regarded 1999 publication, Emerging Voices. South Asian American Women Redefine Self, Family and Community, published by Sage.

The volume lets South Asian women living in the United States speak out as they redefine themselves, their families, and their communities in their search for a bicultural identity. It gives deep insights about women who are caught between two realities.

"These women are struggling to find a way of life that merges the world outside the home with the world within the home," Gupta says.

"The various voices, spanning different generational, religious, and regional points of view, emerge in this collection to reflect their struggle."

The book is not about South Asian women alone. For the stories found in it are also stories about South Asian families.

The book begins by tracing the history of South Asian immigration to the United States.

Then come articles about South Asian adolescent girls growing in a Western country; gender roles among graduate students from India at an American university; the relevance of the cultural environment as they redefine issues of interpersonal relationships: dating, sexuality, marriage, and divorce; and problems confronting working South Asian wives and mothers.

Gupta, herself an academic, has taken care to make sure that the book resonates with human emotions and that it provides the essential human touch which is so often missing in academic research.

Like the SAWC conferences, Emerging Voices is also meant for those in the fields of Asian-American studies, ethnic studies, immigrant studies, women's studies, history, anthropology, and sociology. A key reason for the book is to "open the dialogue within the diverse South Asian communities who may hear the echoes of their own voices within these pages".

The book, like SAWC conferences, also provides a bridge for a Western audience trying to better understand the history and experiences of immigrant populations. Call 805-499-9774 or fax order to 805-499-0871. Orders can also be placed by email from the web site, www.sagepub.com

SAWC had set December 10 as the last date for the submission of abstracts but it is possible that the organization might consider late submissions.

For more information, contact Sangeeta Gupta at sangeetaucla@yahoo.com or sgupta3306@aol.com or visit the SAWC website at: http://www.Indianmall.com/sawc

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