Women on the Right in U.S. History: Intellectual, Economic, and Political Power
February 26-28, 2026
UC Berkeley
This conference seeks to extend our currently limited understanding of American women’s role in building conservative power. From the Loyalist women in the eighteenth century through the War of 1812, to those who were pro-slavery, anti-suffrage, pro-segregationists, pro-KKK, anti-Civil Rights, anti-Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), anti-abortion, anti-#MeToo, and pro-Make America Great Again (MAGA), women have shaped and launched conservative and right-wing movements, despite the fact that some alliances suppressed the rights of women. This seemingly paradoxical underlying current in US history has been neglected. The conference will examine the roles of conservative and right-wing women in the United States in shaping economics, politics, and culture through the lenses of gender, race, religion, sexuality, and more.
Through keynote talks, conference papers, and roundtables, the conference will foster the exchange of intellectual thought among seasoned experts, early-career scholars, and policy-makers from all political perspectives.
Sponsored by: Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies.
Call for Papers:
We invite submissions from scholars in any discipline and at all career stages. While the focus is on women in the United States, papers that take a transnational approach are welcome. Conference papers will be considered for a special issue of the Journal of Right-Wing Studies. Papers are invited on the conference themes and topics outlined above or other topics related to women on the right, including, but not limited to:
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Women and race, settler colonialism, nativism, anti-immigrant movements
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Gender and sexuality/sexual revolutions/LGBTIQ+ rights
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McCarthyism and other historical moments where women on the right played pivotal roles
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Daughters of the American Revolution and similar organizations and movements
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Alliances between left and right-wing women, such as for home schooling or trans-exclusionary feminism or against pornography
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Fractures and coalitions among women across the political spectrum from conservative to far-right
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Women & US foreign policy
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Imperialism, missionary work, militarism, and so forth
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Culture, sports, media, propaganda
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Kitchens and households as sites of economic and cultural power
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Capitalism, neoliberalism, women as economic actors
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Women and right-wing ideology/political thought
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Women and religious movements
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Teaching about women on the right
Limited financial support is available for scholars who need help with travel and/or childcare expenses.
Submission Guidelines
Please use this form. You will be asked to upload an abstract (250-500 words) and bio (up to 150 words).
Deadline: September 29. We expect to notify people by November 1.
Papers (5,000-10,000 words) will be due January 15 for pre-circulation to other presenters.
Organizing Committee
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Victoria Phillips, Conference Chair; Director, Cold War Archival Research Institute, Cold War Lives, Oxford University
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Lawrence A. Rosenthal, Chair of Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies
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Chloë Mayoux, Ernest May Fellow in History & Policy, International Security Program, Harvard Kennedy School
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Kelly Jones, PhD Candidate, Sociology, UC San Diego
Contact
For more information, email crws.programs@berkeley.edu or call 510 642-0813
