Women's Studies Association (NZ)/Pae Akoranga Wāhine
Oral History Legacy Project
As part of the closing down process of WSA(NZ) an oral history project was undertaken to preserve memories of our fabulous Association, which came into being fifty years ago as part of 'second wave feminism'. Nicky Newton was commissioned to manage the project, aided by Hilary Lapsley from the Association. An Oversight Group consisted of historians Keri Mills and Charlotte Greenhaulgh.
Our project was also informed by Nicky Newton's experience on the Global Feminisms project. There was also an earlier oral history project of members by Jill Abigail in the late 1990s. Our aim was to document the intervening years since those interviews, as well as to add further narratives and lived experiences of some of the key players.
Advice was taken from the National Library and the National Oral History Association of New Zealand (NOHANZ). The interviews on Zoom video and audio will be placed within the Oral History and Sound Collection of the Alexander Turnbull Library, along with transcripts and consent forms. The 12 participants also consented to their interviews being placed on this website, where they are accessible to a wider audience. The interviews give a vivid picture of the experiences with the Association and the wider women's studies and feminist communities over the last decades, including inspiring moments and challenges.
The Oral Histories
The interviews will be placed on the website as they are completed.
Anne Else is a writer and editor. She was co-founder of Broadsheet, New Zealand's feminist magazine, has a PhD in gender studies from Victoria University of Wellington, and was editor of the Women's Studies Journal from 1988 to 1991. She has published books and articles on many topics relating to women's studies, notably on adoption, donor conception, state care and surrogacy, women's organisations, women's writing and literature, paid and unpaid work, ageing, and food.
Prue Hyman, a graduate of Oxford University, taught Economics and Women's Studies at Victoria University of Wellington for many years. She has published widely in the field of feminist economics, and has campaigned actively on a number of issues, particularly on women's rights, lesbian issues and equal pay and pay equity. Prue was convenor of the Women's Studies Association from 2000 to 2010.
Hilary Lapsley, a psychology researcher, was an early member of the Association's national committee and was later convenor from 2014 to 2018. Hilary has published in the areas of women's mental health, lifecourse studies, ageing research and bicultural research. She taught Women's Studies at the University of Waikato from 1989 to 2000.