Minutes of the first planning meeting for Scholar and Feminist X, 1982, page 2

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Other issues of control and power were raised. If computer language is
ethnocentric and male-oriented can it be redeemed for use by women? Is the
new technology inherently oppressive or is it oppressive as a result of the
way it is used? Who will have control and access to the new technology - for
example, what will be the power differential between children in middle class
schools with access to computers and children in poorer schools with little

or no access to the new technology? It was suggested that we need to examine
research on the history of technology to address the biases in its development.

Throughout the discussion the issue of women's fear of science and technology
surfaced. The point was made that women need to have expertise in technology
to influence the ways in which it is used in order to maintain their

position in the job market. A response to the notion of women's fear of
technology was that perhaps women aren't phobic but rather are not interested
in working with technology as it is now developed. People responded that there
is a need to examine the dynamics of women's anxiety about technology in order
to reduce the anxiety.

Other issues raised for discussion included: educating faculty who are computer
illiterates while children are becoming increasingly skilled in their use;

the fact that students want technology they can use and will take courses in
computers but not physics or chemistry; the possibility of involving women who
are developing computer technology in the planning of the conference; the
possibility of teaching computer technology with a focus on social responsibility;
the need to integrate abstract theory and concrete experience as we plan the
conference. There was general agreement that the conference topic is an
interdisciplinary one.

Bettina suggested the following headings for the next meeting (which will be
kept together with other books and articles on women and technology on a shelf
in the Women's Center):

- "Technology and the Future of Women: Haven't We Met Somewhere Before"
by Jan Zimmerman. Women's Studies International Quarterly, Vol. 4 No. 3, 1981.

— a book review by Joan Rothschild of The Death of Nature: Women,4Ecology,
and the Scientific Revolution by Carolyn Merchant; Why the Green Nigger:
Re-Mything Genesis by Elizabeth Dodson Gray; Women and Nature: The Roaring
Inside Her by Susan Griffin. Women's Studies International Quarterly, Vol.4 N03.

— Chapter 9, "Machinery", Labor and Monopoly Capital, Harry Braverman,
Monthly Review Press, 1980.

Sue Sacks will bring in a copy of the New Yorker interview with Marvin Minsky, a
leader in the development of artificial intelligence at MIT.

Bettina asked people to let others interested in the topic of women and technology
know about the planning committee which meets again on Thursday, September 30 at
4:15 pm. If you are unable to come, we urge you to share any ideas or suggestions
you have in a note or a call to either Bettina (280-2082) or the Women's Center
(280-2067).

Present: Bettina Berch, Alice Amsden, Christina Bickford, Constance Blake, Leslie
Calman, Sally Chapman, Lee Coppernoll, Wendy Fairey, Jane Gould, Eve Hochwald,
Janie Kritzman, Maria La Sala, Marsha Love, Mary Marphree, Nancy Miller, Sue Sacks,
Rosemary Siciliano, Quandra Stadler, Mary Ellen Tucker.