The NWSA Convention and the Berkshire Women's History Conference were held on two eastern campuses in June, with approximately 1300 in attendance in each case, mainly but not only academic women. And yet, no two meetings could have been more different. No one expected the Berks , on Vassar College's campus, to solve the endemic problem of racism; no one expected the Berks to discuss, take positions on, much less work to resolve other political questions of the day. People came to the Berks for its program: for history, broadly interpreted, covering almost all aspects of what we have come to call women's studies. Participants could choose to attend eight sessions beyond the keynote, eight out of a total of 144. The keynote address by Joan Scott, printed within, focussed on the hostility of the world outside of the Berks to the prospect of women assuming their rightful place in the world of academe.