Conceptions and experiences of motherhood have undergone significant change since 1900.
Scientific and medical advances have impacted practices of pregnancy, birth, and infant and mother care. Policy and legislation have responded to social and economic changes, ascribing new norms to the assumed responsibilities and rights of mothers. Experiences of mothering have been inflected by these changes, not always to the benefit of mothers: for example, the postwar drive to increase hospital births elided the wishes of many women for midwife-led home births. Mothers have not been passive in response to these changes and have been active in protecting their rights and campaigning for better provision. Defining and exploring ‘motherhood’ since 1900 requires a multi-faceted approach, drawing on different academic disciplines, research questions and methodologies, which must be carefully contextualised.
This conference aims to offer a catalyst for this approach. It draws together over 60 individual papers exploring motherhood in contemporary and historical settings in Britain and Ireland, from disciplines across the arts, humanities and social sciences. We are delighted to welcome Dr Sarah Crook, Senior Lecturer in History at Swansea University as our keynote speaker, whose address is entitled ‘Cradles of Discontent: Motherhood as a pathway to activism in modern Britain’.
View our programme to find out more.
Accessibility information
The conference will be held entirely online, is free to attend and open to all. Captioning will be available. If you have any questions about accessibility, please be in touch with us at voicesofmotherhood@worc.ac.uk
This conference is supported by a UKRI Future Leaders’ Fellowship ‘Voices of Motherhood’ Project reference MR/Y018184/1 and is organised by Anna Muggeridge, Eve Pennington and Beckie Rutherford (University of Worcester) and Ruth Davidson (Institute of Historical Research).