Global Reader on Documenting Women’s Lives in the Historical Record

We have contracted with Bloomsburg Publishing to co-edit a global reader on documenting women’s lives. Our specific focus will be women, gender, sexualities, and human rights in the broadest sense, as reflected in the documentation provided by personal, institutional, and organizational records. We seek contributions that critically examine how women’s lives and experiences are recorded, erased, contested, or reclaimed across diverse cultural, political, and geographic contexts.

We welcome chapter proposals addressing any country or diaspora and engaging with one or more of the following themes:

Women and intersectional feminism, including the politics of medicine, contested histories, and the attempted regulation of women’s bodies
The impact of violence, including domestic, sexual, political, on women, ethnic minorities, queer communities, and transwomen populations
War and conflict reflected by the destruction of records, terrorism and the disappeared, erasure of documents, and the repatriation of records
Contemporary global events and their contexts from the women’s perspective, including global conferences, Truth Commissions, United Nations, swisspeace, and related transnational initiatives

We welcome original research, comparative studies, case studies, suggested reprints with updates, and examination of best practices. Other types of work will be considered.

Please submit proposals or any questions to womensglobalreader@gmail.com

The PROJECT TIMELINE is as follows:

Proposals due: March 16, 2026

The proposal abstract should include one to three paragraphs providing an overview of the topic, proposed thesis, five to ten sources that reflect the basic foundation of research related to the subject. Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis and authors will be given approval to begin developing their manuscripts as soon as possible.

First deadline for manuscripts: September 7, 2026. Reviews will be conducted in an ongoing manner and feedback provided to authors as soon as possible.

Additional peer review (as needed): January 18, 2027

Final manuscripts (avg 5,000 – 7,000 words) draft due: February 18, 2027

Book manuscript submitted to the publisher: March 16, 2027

We hope you will consider sharing your research and expertise with us. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Elizabeth Myers
womensglobalreader@gmail.com

Tanya Zanish-Belcher
womensglobalreader@gmail.com

Contact Information
Tanya Zanish-Belcher, Director
Special Collections & Archives, ZSR Library
Wake Forest University

Contact Email
womensglobalreader@gmail.com

https://networks.h-net.org/group/announcements/20140736/call-articles-global-reader-documenting-womens-lives-historical-record