In this public talk Andrea O’Reilly will introduce Motherhood Studies providing an overview of the development of scholarship on motherhood. She will introduce her concept of “matricentric feminism”— that the topic of mothers, mothering, and motherhood is deserving of serious and sustained scholarly inquiry.

As research on motherhood is highly interdisciplinary, this presentation could appeal to academics, ANU staff and students from a broad range of disciplines including Gender Studies, Art, Political Science, the Environment and Economics as well as the broader ACT community.  

Andrea O’Reilly, PhD, is a Professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at York University. O'Reilly founded The Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI) in 1997 and remains Director. Founder and editor-in-chief, Journal of the Motherhood Initiative in 1999 and Demeter Press in 2006, the first feminist press on mothering, reproduction, sexuality and family. 

Andrea is author and editor of 21 books including: Matricentric Feminism: Theory, Activism, and Practice (2017), Mothers, Mothering and Motherhood across Cultural Differences: A Reader (2014) and Academic Motherhood in a Post Second Wave Context: Challenges, Strategies, Possibilities (2012). She served as General Editor for the first-ever Encyclopaedia of Mothering (Sage Publications, 2010). Andrea is a recipient of the CAUT Sarah Shorten Award for outstanding achievements in the promotion of the advancement of women in Canadian universities and colleges, is twice the recipient of York University’s “Professor of the Year Award” for teaching excellence. In 2015 Andrea O’Reilly was the first inductee into the Museum of Motherhood Hall of Fame. 

Contact: Denise Ferris.

This seminar is supported by the Gender Institute and the School of Art and Design.

» Follow this link to view the event video on our Facebook page