The idea for “Celebrating the Origins and Teaching of Women’s History at Atlantic Provinces Universities: A Symposium” grew out of a conversation over lunch at the 2003 CHA conference in Halifax. At the Canadian Committee on Women’s History (CCWH) meeting a question was raised about the continuing relevance of that group. Since one of the three young women I was lunching with was Lisa Chilton, the newly appointed Atlantic representative to that body, I raised the question about the future of the CCWH. There was general agreement among my young colleagues that networking – one of the longtime purposes of the CCWH – was still both necessary and valuable for women entering the field. But, we concluded, developing an active and dynamic network among women scattered across such a vast country – or even among women in our own region – posed significant challenges that widespread access to e-mail and internet discussion groups have not adequately addressed. My three companions pointed enviously at the recently expanded cluster of women historians at UNB. When I mentioned that, in the long-ago past when I was Atlantic representative for the CCWH, I had always thought that I should organize a meeting of scholars and others interested in promoting the study of women’s history in the region, they were enthusiastic about the idea. So I rashly said that I would talk to my high-powered women colleagues – all five of them – when I got back to Fredericton and see what we could do. “Celebrating the Origins and Teaching of Women’s History at Atlantic Provinces Universities: A Symposium” was the result.

GAIL CAMPBELL

Note: The following papers were revised by their authors for publication.