Stories

Barbara Molony received the 2019 “Rachel Fuchs Memorial Award for Excellence in Mentorship and Service to Women/LGBTQ in the Profession,” awarded by the Coordinating Council for Women in History at the American Historical Association (AHA) conference in New York City (January 3-6). Her citation referenced her mentorship of junior faculty and graduate and undergraduate students by reading their work, nominating them for and promoting them to leadership positions in the profession, and supporting them when they needed a helping hand. Her service to the profession included the presidency of the Pacific Coast Branch of the AHA, co-presidency of the Coordinating Council for Women in History, and service on committees of the AHA, the Western Association of Women Historians, the International Federation for Research in Women’s History, and the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians. In June, she will begin a three-year term as co-president of the Berkshire Conference.

Molony also presented a paper, “Gender/ed Justice: Feminism in War and Peace,” at the Nissan Institute, St. Anthony’s College, Oxford University, in November. Her presentation focused on the quandary in which Japanese feminists found themselves with the onset of the Second World War. They had long emphasized women’s inherent maternal goodness and opposition to gendered violence. As the war progressed, many found themselves drawn to support the Japanese state, despite the violence of Japanese militarism—a position feminists of the 1980s and after would criticize.