The Center for Constitutional Law seeks proposals from those interested in presenting papers at its upcoming interdisciplinary conference, The 19th Amendment at 100: From the Vote to Gender Equality. The conference will be held Friday, September 20, 2019 at the University of Akron School of Law.
Conference Focus. The focus of the 2019 conference is the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. Soon after the passage of the 19th Amendment in June 1919, and its ratification by the states in August 1920, the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the voting amendment as a broad command for gender equality in Adkins v. Children’s Hospital. However, that decision was quickly overturned, narrowing the impact and intent of the amendment and its 72-year advocacy. This conference explores the original broader command of the amendment and its goal of systemic equality and opportunity for women.
This conference will bring together scholars from a range of disciplines including law, history, political science, and women’s studies in order to engage in a day of intensive scholarly discussion about the implications of the amendment. The cross-disciplinary focus stems from a sense that law is best understood in social and political context, and that gender justice is understood both within and outside the bounds of law. Possible subject areas for discussion might include the history of the amendment, the history of women’s equality, a comparison with other constitutional rights or enactments, the evolution of feminist legal theory, women’s leadership and power, race and class interactions, connections between public and private rights, or unresolved questions of substantive gender equality.
Proposals including a title, short abstract, and CV should be submitted to Professor Tracy Thomas at thomast@uakron.edu by April 10, 2019. More information is available here.
