2024 National Women's Studies Annual Conference

Thursday, November 14th - Sunday, November 17th 

The National Women’s Studies Association  leads the field of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. Established in 1977, NWSA has more than 2,000 members worldwide. Our annual conference regularly draws more than 2,300 attendees and is the only annual meeting in the continental United States of America and its colonies that is exclusively dedicated to showcasing the latest feminist scholarship. 

The 2024 conference will open on Thursday, November 14th with three pre-conferences. The Program Administration and Development (PAD) and Women’s Centers (WC) meetings offer networking and professional development opportunities for women’s, gender, and sexuality studies and women’s center administrators. The Women of Color Leadership Project (WoCLP) is designed to support women of color in their professional goals and leadership development; interested candidates must apply separately to participate. 

The General Conference begins on Thursday afternoon and concludes Sunday afternoon; it will feature concurrent breakout sessions, receptions, an awards celebration honoring members of the Association, and opportunities for connection.

Our CFP Deadline is Extended to May 15, 2024


Download the Call for Proposals

Constituency Group Sponsored Sessions | Call for Proposals 

Each year, the National Office invites Constituency Groups to curate their own Call for Proposals (CFPs) to help select a sponsored session. Sponsored sessions are chosen by Constituency Groups that are searching for subject matter that aligns with their focus/interests that also connect to the Annual Conference themes and sub-themes. View our 2024 Constituency Group CFPs below:

Trans/Gender Variant Caucus

Popular Culture Interest Group

Registration Details

All presenters, including pre-conference presenters, poster session participants, and moderators must have active NWSA individual membership and be registered for the conference by August 30th. Membership and conference registration are two separate processes and require separate fees. We recommend updating your individual membership first, then registering for the conference to receive the reduced rate for current members. 

Pre-Conference Registration:

There are two NWSA Pre-Conferences which require registration: the Program Administration and Development (PAD) pre-conference and the Women’s Centers Committee (WC) Pre-Conference.  In order to attend either pre-conference, attendees will pay an additional $125 USD to register.  This rate is inclusive of the breakfast and lunch that will be provided. The last day to register for either of these pre-conferences is September 15th, 2024 in order to ensure accurate and inclusive catering qualities. Attendees for these pre-conference must also register for the general conference. 
 
If you are accepted to the Women of Color Leadership Project Pre-Conference your conference registration will be waived as part of your participation.  We’re excited to share more details as pre-conference planning comes together!

Travel Grants and Registration Scholarships 

The NWSA offers a limited number of registration scholarships and travel grants to accepted presenters.  NWSA especially encourages student research and involvement at its Annual Conferences via scholarship awards. NWSA offers a limited number of registration scholarships and travel grants to accepted presenters. Students, scholars and activists with a demonstrated need for financial assistance are encouraged to apply. Particular consideration will be given to assisting those with need who have not previously received NWSA travel grants.
The registration scholarships and travel grants are also intended to encourage the participation of individuals from under-represented and/or precarious constituencies in the NWSA. The travel grant and registration scholarship application  application closes on April 30th, 2024

Apply Here

Get Involved: Volunteer Conference Committees

As we begin conference planning there are a number of committees available for members to join as volunteers. You can find information on these committees and their objectives below. Volunteers will discuss varying time commitments during initial committee meetings and communications with the National Office.

Local Committee

The NWSA is reviving the practice of working with members local to the conference site to provide insight, recommendations, and ideas throughout conference planning.  We are seeking 6-8 volunteers to:

  • help leverage awareness and knowledge of the City of Detroit to identify appropriate partners and vendors;
  • assist with the planning of relevant events (such as receptions and networking opportunities);
  • serve as liaisons for collaborations with appropriate partners (such as choosing our local booksellers)
  • work with the National Office on meaningful and apt resources related to the history of Detroit re: honoring the legacy of Indigenous peoples of Waawiyatanong, the Great Migration, politics and policy, historical and current-day redlining etc.
  • share insights on how to leverage volunteers at the Annual Conference

 Accessibility Committee

In an effort to openly and thoughtfully improve (and normalize) the Association's accessible practices; we are establishing an Accessibility Committee to help curate how we strengthen access and inclusion at the Annual Conference (and beyond). We are seeking 6-8 volunteers to:

  • provide appropriate assistance and guidance in integrating accessibility values, beyond reasonable accommodations, into our 2024 conference offerings;
  • identify and develop resources for presenters and attendees on adopting accessible practices in regards to their presentations and means of connecting with one another;
  • work with the National Office on initiatives that warrant meaningful integration of accessible interventions as it relates to the 2024 conference.

Proposal Review Committee

The NWSA invites at least 25 members to volunteer on our Proposal Review Committee; t he objectives of this review committee are as follows

  • review submission proposals for the 2024 Annual Conference in line with the conference theme and sub-themes;
  • coordinate Accept/Reject communications for proposal submissions;
  • assist with conference scheduling;
  • advise on how we may best group individual proposals for the 2024 Annual Conference;
  • inform the process of recruiting and assigning moderators for grouped individual proposals, etc.

General Conference Volunteers

The NWSA conference is in need of on-site volunteers! Volunteers can be tasked with anything from working our registration booth(s) to assisting attendees with finding their room location and so much more! We are able to task any person with any ability to help. Each year volunteers are essential to the smooth facilitations of the Annual Conference. 

We ask that interested members commit to 1-3 hour shifts each day of the conference. If you are willing and able to serve as a volunteer, the NWSA is able to waive and/or discount registration fees. Our interest form opens June 1st!

Register for the Annual Conference

Members and Non-Members are able to register for the 2024 Annual Conference, Early Bird Registration Pricing Ends August 31st!

Register Here

Submit a Proposal

We are excited to partner with Oxford Abstracts, a streamlined platform to submit your conference proposals. In order to submit your work, you will need to make an account in Oxford Abstracts and we encourage you to use our suggested templates to prepare your submissions. Please explore our proposal resources for guidance as well as support!

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Nominate or Apply for our 2024 Awards

Each year, NWSA in coordination with different NWSA caucuses and publications, offers multiple awards for people who are current members of NWSA. Awardees are announced in the Annual Conference program and are invited to participate in our award recognition event(s) hosted on-site during the conference. Our Book Awards have Closed as of May 1st. Nomination for Women's Centers Committee Awards are Open! 

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The Cornfield by Vito Valdez; photography credit: Visit Detroit

About Waawiyatanong

Detroit, Michigan USA resides on the occupied ancestral lands of the Ojibwe, Ottawa, and Potawatomi, who are the Anishinaabe nations who make up the Council of Three Fires.

In 2019, the Detroit Indigenous Peoples Alliance passed a resolution in the City Council to rename Detroit “Waawiyatanong,” which is “a word that articulates Detroit to the water”. The NWSA is excited and dedicated to meaningful engagement of the history and contemporary activism of Indigenous peoples in Waawiyatanong; we look forward to sharing more resources as we move forward.

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Convening at the Huntington Place Convention Center

The 2024 Annual Conference will convene at the Huntington Place Convention Center in Detroit, Michigan USA; all sessions and conference events will be hosted on-site at Huntington Place (there will be no conference events on-site at the Detroit Marriott, which is 0.6 miles away and is accessible by connected monorail). We’re excited to share more details as we confirm conference programming!

Huntington Place

Have a Question?

Please explore our 2024 Annual Conference Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page to learn more about our ongoing and expanding accessibility commitments, support services (such as childcare needs), and more! As we collaborate with our Detroit-based vendors and liaisons, we will update our resources accordingly.

Learn More