Outskirts proudly enters its second decade this year, and promises to continue its reputation as an outstanding resource for feminist cultural studies.
This issue includes an absorbing meditation on Irigaray's notion of becoming divine by Agnes Bosanquet, and a compelling analysis by Vivienne Muller of the public reception to 66yo Rumanian Adriana Iliescu giving birth last year. Hélène Bowen Raddeker reflects on her recent teaching of women’s studies amidst the generational debate, and Gina Mercer writes an epistolary essay on reading Robert Dessaix and modes of self-representation. The articles are all marked by quite different forms of writing and so invite a host of reading pleasure.
It seems fitting that Outskirts has undergone some changes as it enters its second decade; indeed, this adaptability seems to have been a feature of its success.
The first edition was launched in May 1996 in hardcopy for the very reasonable cost of $5, surely a bargain even then with its very professional layout and inclusion of illustrations, poetry, fiction, features and reviews. It was initiated and edited by postgraduate students in the English department at the University of Western Australia, some of whom are still editorial consultants. They say the labour involved was massive, probably contributing to the last hardcopy being six months later in November 1996, after which it went online. This was still an untried and innovative area for journals in 1997, but has proved to have advantages in making contemporary feminist work quickly, cheaply, and widely available. Delys Bird took on the role of editor with many of the postgraduates forming the editorial board alongside Women’s Studies academics from UWA and the University of Adelaide. The content too has changed, withdrawing from publishing poetry and fiction and gradually relinquishing the reviews or book notes sections. Book reviews are now amply covered by Hecate’s Australian Women’s Book Review, which has been online since 2000.
It was only last year that Delys stood down to be an editorial consultant, handing over the reigns of editor to me (yeeha). During the changeover we extended the editorial board to become a much larger list of editorial consultants, reflecting the broad group of people on whom the journal draws as knowledge and labour resources. The website was redesigned as it shifted to a different content management system, retaining all the archived issues and documenting the personnel involved in each issue’s production. I intend to follow the pattern of publishing diverse and high quality material in Outskirts, maintaining its signature as a feminist cultural studies journal which publishes innovative and challenging new critical material. For the moment though, enjoy, and consider contributing to Outskirts. Submissions for future editions are welcome, as are ideas for thematic editions.
Alison Bartlett
May 2006
The University of Western Australia
Reference this as:
Bartlett, Alison. 'Editorial'. Outskirts: feminisms along the edge. 14 (2006)
https://www.outskirts.arts.uwa.edu.au/volumes/volume-14/editorial/_nocache
University information
CRICOS Code: 00126G
