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Social Science Women's Studies

Motherhood

Power and Oppression

edited by Andrea O'Reilly, Marie Porter & Patricia Short

Publisher
Canadian Scholars' Press Inc.
Initial publish date
Aug 2005
Category
Women's Studies, Motherhood
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780889614543
    Publish Date
    Aug 2005
    List Price
    $39.95

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Description

In feminism, the institution of mothering/motherhood has been a highly contested area in how it relates to the oppression of women. As Adrienne Rich articulated in her classic 1976 book Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution, although motherhood as an institution is a male-defined site of oppression, women's own experiences of mothering can nonetheless be a source of power. This volume examines four locations wherin motherhood is simultaneously experienced as a site of oppression and of power: emodiment, representation, practice, and separation.
Motherhood: Power and Oppression includes psychological, historical, sociological, literary, and cultural approaches to inquiry and a wide range of disciplinary perspectives — qualitative, quantitative, corporeal, legal, religious, fictional, mythological, dramatic and action research.
This rich collection not only covers a wide range of subject matter but also illustrates ways of doing feminist research and practice.

About the authors

Andrea O'Reilly is an Assistant Professor in the School of Women's Studies at York University.

Andrea O'Reilly's profile page

Marie Porter is currently completing her PhD at the School of History, Philosophy, Religion, and Classics at the University of Queensland, Australia.

Marie Porter's profile page

Patricia Short is a lecturer in sociology in the School of Social Science at the University of Queensland, Australia.

Patricia Short's profile page