We're Back! Call for Blog Posts

In her formative text, Black Feminist Thought, Patricia Hill Collins provides a guideline for thinking through a Black feminist orientation to questions of intellectualism and knowledge production that challenges traditionally white, male, and western interpretations of ideas. She writes,

 “...Black women intellectuals are neither all academics nor found primarily in the Black middle class. Instead, all U.S. Black women who somehow contribute to Black feminist thought as critical social theory are deemed to be ‘intellectuals.’ They may be highly educated. Many are not” (1990, 17).

 Hill Collins goes on to discuss the historical suppression of Black women’s voices through the logics of traditional knowledge production and the need to reconceptualize that production outside of contexts like theory or the university, instead protecting and uplifting Black feminist thought wherever it sprouts.

 Contributing to the great past and present of Black feminist publishing, BWSA is committed to creating a platform to share, develop, and celebrate rigorous work on Black women. To this end, the BWSA blog amplifies the voices of those working to center Black women’s lives through their scholarly pursuits. Since its inception, BWSA has utilized the blog and our social media channels to gather and broadcast the wonderful work of our members and other Black feminist thinkers. Examples include our Fall 2020 series on Black women and the Centennial of the 19th Amendment, our annual #28DaysofBWS series highlighting books in Black Women’s Studies, and much more.

 We are excited to relaunch the BWSA blog this fall with a rolling call for blog posts. We welcome research-based pitches from any discipline. Black Women’s Studies must be central to the proposed blog post.

 In addition to the rolling call, BWSA will periodically release calls for blog posts on specific topics throughout the year. Upcoming series may include:

 ·       Scenes from a Black Feminist Conference: Celebrating BWSA’s Inaugural Symposium

·       The (Mis)Education of Black Girls: on Black Girlhood Studies

·       My Mentee Has Two Jobs!: On Surviving and Thriving on the Academic Job Market

 In order to submit, complete the pitch survey here with your contact information, scholarly affiliation(s), a 100-word abstract or excerpt of your blog post, and a brief explanation as to why you believe your contribution is a good fit for the BWSA blog. Anyone is welcome to submit a pitch. Submitters do not have to be affiliated with a college or university to be considered and they do not need to be BWSA members (although we would love it if you joined!). Submissions are not guaranteed for publication and will be evaluated based on rigor and overall fit for the BWSA blog. Accepted submissions are also subject to multiple rounds of editing prior to publication.

 The BWSA Blog Editor, Dr. Olivia Adams, will review pitches on a rolling basis. Email blog@blackwomensstudies.com with any questions.

 Remember to follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date on calls for blog contributors!