Demeter Press; Maria Jose Yax-Fraser (York Univ.) and Tatjana Takševa (Saint Mary’s Univ.)

Proposals by: 20.12.2023

This edited collection seeks to bring together intersectional and interdisciplinary perspectives on the cross-cultural mothering experiences of women who have migrated who have been displaced and/or are in the process of migrating from one place to another. The editors understand the lines between forced and voluntary migration and displacement to be fluid and context specific, including persons who are fleeing in the face of threats of violence or open conflict, asylum seekers, those who leave their home country for economic reasons in the hope of finding a better income elsewhere as well as graduates with no prospect of finding a job using her skills in her country of origin who may feel she has no choice but to emigrate in search of a more fulfilling role (Bakewell 2021, Crawley/Skleparis 2018, Long 2013, Aidani 2010). The editors recognize, however, that the distinctions among those statuses permeate academic, policy and popular discourses, shaping individual experiences of mothering. They ask that prospective authors clearly contextualize their work regarding types of migration and situate their findings with regard to policy or legal frameworks of re/settlement.
Feminist migration scholars have increasingly made women and their experiences visible in their analysis of the complex processes of (in)migration, (re)settlement and integration (Boyd 1976, Gabacha 1991, Pedraza 1991, Pessar 1987/2003, Ranger 2005, Boyd and Grieco, 2003, Morokvasic, 2003/2007/2011; Sinke, 2006) with some focusing on forced migration (Bassel 2012, Musalo 2010, Nolin 2017, Paquet 2011, Peteet 1997, Pinelli 2013). A few studies have also highlighted women’s experiences of mothering along their journeys seeking refuge (Auclair 2017, Baines/Gauvin 2014, Contreras/Griffith 2012, Lenette 2013, Lenette/Brought/Cox 2013).
During the past two decades a growing number of feminist scholars have examined how migration affects women and men in gender specific ways and how the processes of migration, settlement and integration assign a much greater responsibility to women who more often undertake “the meshing” of paid and unpaid work, family, immigration, and cultural (among other) systems (Alzoubi 2011, Brah 1996, Chamberlain 2006, Gretchen 2008, Hiott/et al. 2006, Irving 2000, Pratt 2004, Parreñas 2005, Yeo 2010). Particularly women’s gender specific concerns pertaining to paid work, housework, pregnancy, childrearing, and care work have received greater attention. Read more … (PDF)

Source: female-l@jku.at