Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI) (Web)

Time: October 20-23, 2011
Venue: Toronto, ON, Canada 
Deadline for abstracts: April 1, 2011

Over the last decade the topic of motherhood has emerged as a distinct field of scholarly inquiry, in large part due to the research activities of MIRCI’s predecessor, the Association for Research on Mothering (ARM). The recent SAGE publication of the first-ever encyclopedia (three volume, 750 entry) on the topic of motherhood (O’Reilly, 2010) indicates that Motherhood Studies is indeed now regarded and acknowledged as a distinct field of scholarship. This embedded conference will address ways to locate, catalogue, assess, evaluate and disseminate Motherhood Studies scholarship within the areas of teaching, research and community partnerships.

Topics may include but are not restricted to:

Is a distinct scholarly discipline of Motherhood Studies needed or necessary? What are the benefits and risks of creating a distinct discipline? How do we determine what is Motherhood Studies and what is not? Is such determined by the content and or perspective of the scholarship? Are there methodologies and or pedagogies distinct to Motherhood Studies; what are they? What topics have been well-researched? What areas require further study and research? What are the strengths of Canadian Motherhood Studies? What is the hertory of Motherhood Studies in Canada? Have some regions and universities been more prominent (and why)? What is the relationship of Motherhood Studies to Women’s Studies, Childhood Studies, and Feminist Studies? Is Motherhood Studies feminist in its perspective and content? Does it have to be? How does Motherhood Studies relate to the burgeoning studies of fatherhood/parenthood? How do we study motherhood without falling prey to the scholarly limitations of ‚identity politics‘ and essentialism? How do we best develop and disseminate Canadian motherhood studies?

Keynote Speakers:  TBA

If you are interested in being considered as a presenter, please send a 250 word
abstract and a 50-word bio by April 1, 2011 to info@motherhoodinitiative.org
One must be a member of Motherhood Imitative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI) to submit an abstract for this conference.