Society for Women in Philosophy collection (Ms.2015.014)

Biographical / Historical

The Society for Women in Philosophy was created in 1972 to "support and promote women in philosophy." Since that time, the Society for Women in Philosophy or "SWIP" has expanded to include many branches around the world. SWIP chapters can be found in the United States, Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Flanders, and Germany. To fulfill its mission to promote and support women in philosophy, SWIP holds lectures, divisional meetings, meetings in conjunction with the American Philosophical Association, and publishes national and chapter newsletters.

In 2013, the Feminist Philosophy Archive Project began when the Association for Feminist Ethics and Social Theory (FEAST) and the Society for Women in Philosophy (SWIP) wanted a way to handle SWIP archives, dating to 1971. While the SWIP archive is the immediate goal, the ultimate goal is an inclusive and international Feminist Philosophy Archive (FPA). In 2014, the Feminist Theory Archive at Brown University entered into a joint relationship with the Society for Women in Philosophy to collect and make available the Society's organizational records. The American Philosophical Association generously donated $5,000 to support a temporary assistant archivist for 2015-2016. During that time, twenty scholars donated their materials that document the founding, operations, and activities of the Society.