CFP: Interdisciplinary conference on motherhood in London, UK

CALL FOR PAPERS (Deadline 1 December 2012) - PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY TO COLLEAGUES AND STUDENTS WORKING ON MOTHERHOOD IN

 ALL DISCIPLINES.

Motherhood in post-1968 European Women's Writing:

'Cross-cultural and Interdisciplinary Dialogues'

Thursday-Saturday 24-26 October 2013

Venue: Centre for the Study of Contemporary Women's Writing, Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, University of London, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU, U.K.

This conference is the culmination of the AHRC-funded Motherhood in post-1968 European Literature Network, and follows five thematic workshops held between May 2012 and June 2013. The main aim of the Network is to raise the profile of contemporary literature as a field of study of motherhood in an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural forum, and to explore how insights from literary studies might contribute to studies of motherhood in other disciplines.

The conference aims to continue the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary dialogue of the workshops around representations and narratives of motherhood in women's writing from across Europe, and to open it up to a larger group of participants. It is expected that each panel will be interdisciplinary. Individual 20-minute papers, ready-made panels and round-table sessions may be proposed. An author-reading event will be held, and an exhibition will run alongside the conference.

Topic fields could include, but are not restricted to:

Changing Models of Motherhood; Motherhood and Death; Motherhood and Disability; Motherhood and the Economy; Motherhood and Europe; Motherhood and Exile; Motherhood and Fertility; Motherhood and the Law; Motherhood and Loss; Motherhood and the Media; Motherhood and Memory; Motherhood and Mental Health; Motherhood and Migration; Motherhood and Place; Motherhood and Religions; Motherhood and Sexuality; Motherhood and Technology; Motherhood and Violence; Motherhood and the Visual Arts; Motherhood and War; Motherhood and Work; Motherhood and Writing; Non-mothers; and Other-mothers

Round-table sessions may also be proposed on methodological issues relative to interdisciplinary dialogue, focusing on case studies relative to motherhood.

Proposals are welcomed from scholars of any European literatures and researchers of motherhood from any discipline (which could include anthropology, demography, education, history, law, media studies, philosophy, politics, psychoanalysis, psychology, social policy, sociology, visual arts, etc.). Proposals for contributions are also welcomed from practitioners (e.g. therapists, social and health workers), activists, community groups, policy-makers, charities, or reading groups.

There may a small amount of funding available to contribute to the attendance of scholars from European countries outside the UK. If you wish to be considered, please specify cheapest travel costs when submitting your proposal.

Please send your proposal for individual papers, panels, round-tables or other ideas for participation, in English, to Network Co-ordinator, Victoria Browne

(victoria.browne@sas.ac.uk) by the deadline of 1 December 2012. Please include a short bio-bibliography.

A publication drawn from the conference is planned.

For further information on the Network, http://www.igrs.sas.ac.uk/research-fellowships/ahrc-post-1968-motherhood-european-literature-network

Centre for the Study of Contemporary Women's Writing, http://www.igrs.sas.ac.uk/centre-study-contemporary-womens-writing

Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, http://www.igrs.sas.ac.uk/

 

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