HISTORIA

The Feminist Research Institute is a scientific institution related to Universidad Complutense de Madrid. It is a research , docent and interdisciplinar center, that has been developping its activities since 1988.

The very beginning of the Institute appeared in 1983 when a group of teachers and students from the third grade of Humanities and Social Science started to get in touch with the aim of coming together around .Mª Carmen García-Nieto ,titular teacher from the department of Contemporary History. Firts meetings were hold at the Faculty of Geography and History.

Fruits from the work of that first foundational group was the celebration of an international meeting in the autumm of 1985 with the name of Women, Science and Political Practice and with the collaboration of the most reputated academic voices in relation to feminist studies. The organizing committee was composed by Pilar Domínguez Prats, Concha Fagoaga, Gloria Nielfa, Carmen Sarasúa y Mª Dolores Vigil, under the coordination of Mª Carmen García Nieto. Different personalities were invitated, as Christine Delphy, CNRS of París; Hillary Rose;Bradford University, Lourdes Benería, Rutgers University , Celia Amorós, from the UNED and Verena Stolke from the Univesity of Barcelona

All the texts and debates were archived and appeared in 1987 in a book, with the same name of the Convention. The meeting, that was unpredictable succesful with more than a hundred of people registered, supossed and important antecedent in the future trayectory of the Institute.

Some of the participants were bound to different proyects: Lourdes Benería was invited to run two courses organized by the Institute between 1991 y 1992 and Celia Amorós not only joined the seminar after the meeting but she was also chosen as the Institute´s Director.

The meeting was also useful to reconsider the operative frame of activities in the University. The dialogue with the University Rector Gustavo Villapalos was determinant .The idea of creating an Universitary Institute belonging to Universidad Complutense de Madrid started to take form. With the support of a dozen of departments from different faculties and the Committee of Geography and History , the petition were sent to the University cabinet meeting and finally during 1988-1989 academic year , the petition was approved. The Institute of Feminist Research was born as an independent center belonging to the University.

It was since that moment when a new stage started. The statute was modified and Maria Carmen Garcia Nieto ask to be relieved in the works of coordination that she held since de foundational stage of the Institute. Like this, the recent center held is first cabinet meeting the 14th November 1990 to elect a new director. Celia Amorós, cathedratic in philosophy in Universidad Complutense was chosen. The first Ejecutive Comission held the same day ,was integrated by Pilar Domínguez Prats, Concha Fagoaga, Guadalupe Gómez-Ferrer, Mª Jesús Miranda, Gloria Nielfa, Carmen Sarasúa y Mª Dolores Vigil. If the economic contribution of the Women Institute was essential in the creation of the center ,later on it became insufficient to carry out the projets that little by little appeared from the Institute members.

It was the Women General Issues, created by Presidency Council of Comunidad Autonoma de Madrid, the organism that reinforced the economic support by signing an anual agreement with the Rector. As the result, some of the programs could be developped and the feeling of enthusiasm between the crew grew up. Finally, the project was a reality.

When Mª Carmen García-Nieto moved to Barcelona, the Instituted was relocated. If during her coordination work, her own office at Geography and History´s Faculty was used as the main center of meetings and first archive, since then it could not be like that anymore.

Although, before leaving she looked for another place, where the Institute could developpe its activities: It was a little office at the Statistics School at Moncloa´s Campus.

In 1993, Celia Amorós began a long stay at Harvard´s University,what opened a new process at the Institute principalship. At June of the same year, the Council met again in ordinary session for the aproval of the academic year and for the election of a new master, the university teacher Concha Fagoaga,from the depatment of journalism, who assume the responsabilty of working as the master for 2 years.

Since that date, the Ejecutive Commision was modified and started to hold responsability posts Gloria Nielfa, as Academic Secretary, Carmela Sanz Rueda at finances issues, Guadalupe Gómez-Ferrer, Study issues, Ana Sabaté in Research programs en el área de Programas and Cristina Segura, supervising the Institute publications.

Done the two stablished years, in June 1995 the Council met again to elect a new director. Cristina Segura,university teacher belonging to the department of Medieval History from the Geography and History Faculty assume the responsability until 1997. Then, Ana Sabaté, teacher from the department of Human Geography, gets the leadership until 1999. It was that year when Rosa García Rayego assumed the post. In October 2007, Marián López Cao in elected as the new Director of the Institute of Feminist Research.

The Institute is governed by the Statues of the Universidad Complutense and by the Reglament of Universitary Institutes, approved at the 2000-2001 academic year. Rector organs of the Institute are constituted by: The Direction, The Academic Secretary, The Institute Council and the Permanent Comission.

The Institute Council has 63 members belonging to different academic disciplines from Humanity and Social Sciences.