Queen Mary University of London/ 4 November 2019
We are seeking participants for a workshop on medieval and early modern
motherhood. In recent years, scholarship has sought to illuminate
motherhood in the medieval and early modern world as a distinct category
of experience in the lives of women. This workshop will consider the
various ways in which pre-modern motherhood was medicalised, moralised,
theorised and visualised from conception and pregnancy through to
childbirth, child-rearing and other ‘alternative’ ways of mothering.
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Rituals of motherhood such as churching or lying-in ceremonies
- Breastfeeding and infant feeding
- Midwives and mothers; wet-nurses and mothers
- Advice to mothers
- Women’s writings about motherhood
- Religion and motherhood (including saints and spiritual motherhood)
- Maternal authority, particularly over children
- Relationships between mothers and fathers
Abstracts of no more than 250 words should be sent to maternalinfluences@gmail.com
by 14 June. Please indicate in your email whether you would like to
present a traditional 20-minute paper or a 5-10-minute overview of your
research. We especially welcome PhD students and ECRs.
If you have any questions, please contact Catherine Maguire or Lauren Cantos.
