Welcome to the inaugural issue of thirdspace. It's been a long time coming but it is finally here and we couldn't be happier. We named this project 'thirdspace' in order to evoke Homi Bhaba's work on hybridity, a model which is often played out in emerging feminists' lives and academic pursuits. We often are poised between the potential of this liminal state created by our feminist work and action, and a certain isolation that we frequently experience in our academic units and amongst our peers. As editors of this new endeavor we wanted to provide a space for feminist scholarship that could be shared and enjoyed by other academics engaged in feminist research, and experienced by those less familiar with feminist thinking. It was also important for us to create a forum where ideas and resources can be shared, read and discussed, with the hope that those who visit the site will come away with a stronger understanding of the diverse and fascinating areas of feminist research from around the world.

The layout of this site reflects these concerns, dividing thirdspace into two sections. The first is our peer-reviewed academic journal. We received many great submissions and we hope that you will enjoy the selection of papers, essays and book reviews that we have chosen for the first issue. We look forward to publishing many more in the future and have plans to produce some "special issues" that will focus on specific areas in feminist research.

We also offer a unique section for resources, news, and networking called chora. Originating with Plato and expanded by Julia Kristeva, 'chora' is a third state outside that of form and its sensory analog, "space which is eternal and indestructible, which provides a position for everything that comes to be" (Plato, Timaeus 50-2). Chora is itself a thirdspace, a place of origin, hybrity, and movement, of simultaneous intangibility and foundation: "an essentially mobile and extremely provisional articulation constituted by movements and their ephemeral stases" (Kristeva, Revolution in Poetic Language, 25-26). Here you will find a listserv (chora-l) where we hope our readers will contribute to discussion about thirdspace and feminist scholarship in general and share information that may be of interest. Our resources section is a place where you can find links, contacts, and general information about various feminist community and academic organizations. The research notes section includes biographical and contact information about our current and future authors as well as other members of the emerging scholar community.

Of course, a project such as this one involves the helping hands of many groups and individuals, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank a few of them. First of all thanks goes to the many scholars who offered advice, help, and/or agreed to serve on our Advisory Board and as reviewers. We were lucky to have the help of an undergraduate practicum student, Zoya Harris, who contributed countless hours of research and provided us with valuable insight and suggestions that we are most grateful for. At the beginning of this project the editors of thirdspace were all graduate students at The University of British Columbia in Vancouver and we very much appreciate the financial contribution from the Department of History. We are also indebted to the Centre for Research in Women's Studies and Gender Relations for their continued support of thirdspace and for allowing us to use the centre for our meetings. Thank-you, as well, to Women in Print Bookstore in Vancouver, B.C. for allowing our reviews editor to peruse the publishers catalogues and bookshelves for our list of books and for potential books to review.

We are very excited to be publishing our first issue of thirdspace and we look forward to many future issues. As graduate students and feminists this project is close to our hearts and we value the opportunity to give other feminist graduate students a place to publish their work. We hope you take full advantage of the ideas and resources offered here, and invite you to join our community.

The editors of thirdspace