Oct. 20, 1997 Contact Pauline Austin (541) 346-3129 EUGENE--"Nothing changes more than the past," the old adage goes, and that's good news to a group of teachers and scholars who will gather on the University of Oregon campus Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 25-26, to consider the ways history is studied and taught. "Teaching the Past in the Present: Gender in History" is a free public conference sponsored by the Feminist Humanities Project. It will explore a range of questions--from teaching about the lives of women and gender in pre-modern times to the innovative use of electronic media in recording and presenting history. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Alumni Lounge in Gerlinger Hall, 1468 University St. The opening session starts at 11 a.m. The conference will follow three themes: Women and the Arts, Women and Power, and Women and Religion. Additional events, such as a choice of either a film or baroque concert on Saturday night and a book fair on Sunday, also are planned. The conference is part of a project directed by the Feminist Humanities Project of the Center for the Study of Women in Society (CSWS) that brings together local high school teachers with university professors and researchers from literature, history, arts and other fields of the humanities. Diane Downey, an English teacher at Thurston High School, said the project helps her bring new ideas into her classroom. "Gender in literature is my main interest," she says. "It's exciting for the university and high school people to find out that they have so many of the same interests. The university is reaching out to the community instead of being isolated from it." Project researchers have developed a new teaching tool in the form of an electronic database and will present it at the conference. Through the database, teachers will be able to share syllabi, texts, bibliographies and other teaching materials, as well as conduct on-line discussions. Clare Lees, UO associate professor of English and comparative literature, says the collaborative aspect of the project is invigorating. "We're teaching in different communities, so we often ask different questions," she says. Lees explains that often the teachers will ask difficult questions the university professors haven't considered, such as, "What does gender mean to a 14-year-old?" Lees also said the conference and project is a chance to share the best research that is available with teachers at the high school and university level. The main conference proceedings will take place at the Alumni Lounge, Gerlinger Hall. For more information, call the CSWS office at (541) 346-5015 or visit the Feminist Humanities Project website at <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~fhp/>. -30- #P-6019/Local,OrDailies