Negotiating motherhood in the academy: the maternal subjectivities of feminist academics
Negotiating motherhood in the academy: the maternal subjectivities of feminist academics
The current socio-political climate, with its ever intense pressures for performative ‘excellence’, raises questions for feminist academics working in HE, particularly as the space and place for matters ‘maternal' become increasingly complex. A decade ago, Raddon (2002) identified the discursive positioning of academic mothers to explore and expose the various tensions between the independent, aggressive nature of academic work and the dependent, caring nature of mothering. With the supposed ‘feminisation of Higher Education’ (Leathwood & Read, 2011) and the associated increase in female students and academics, this paper questions the compatibility of motherhood and academia for feminist academics of childbearing age. The small-scale study from which this paper is drawn focuses specifically on the narratives of feminist academics working in the academy, some of whom undertake research into various aspects of childhood, family life and parenting. It explores and debates the lived psycho-social contradictions, tensions and ambiguities for academic mothers of endeavouring to apply feminist politics (at home, through their research, and within the academy). The paper attends to motherhood subjectivities as gendered, classed and ‘raced’ to explore the competing demands of the contemporary academy and implications for the career trajectories of feminist academics.
Osgood, Jayne
6461710f-b21b-41e1-912c-8b0aafd21ed3
Bhopal, Kalwant
5ac0970e-1c42-4757-87df-6fdb6f826314
25 April 2013
Osgood, Jayne
6461710f-b21b-41e1-912c-8b0aafd21ed3
Bhopal, Kalwant
5ac0970e-1c42-4757-87df-6fdb6f826314
Osgood, Jayne and Bhopal, Kalwant
(2013)
Negotiating motherhood in the academy: the maternal subjectivities of feminist academics.
Compelling Diversities: Educational Intersections, Gender and Education Annual Conference, London, United Kingdom.
22 - 25 Apr 2013.
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
The current socio-political climate, with its ever intense pressures for performative ‘excellence’, raises questions for feminist academics working in HE, particularly as the space and place for matters ‘maternal' become increasingly complex. A decade ago, Raddon (2002) identified the discursive positioning of academic mothers to explore and expose the various tensions between the independent, aggressive nature of academic work and the dependent, caring nature of mothering. With the supposed ‘feminisation of Higher Education’ (Leathwood & Read, 2011) and the associated increase in female students and academics, this paper questions the compatibility of motherhood and academia for feminist academics of childbearing age. The small-scale study from which this paper is drawn focuses specifically on the narratives of feminist academics working in the academy, some of whom undertake research into various aspects of childhood, family life and parenting. It explores and debates the lived psycho-social contradictions, tensions and ambiguities for academic mothers of endeavouring to apply feminist politics (at home, through their research, and within the academy). The paper attends to motherhood subjectivities as gendered, classed and ‘raced’ to explore the competing demands of the contemporary academy and implications for the career trajectories of feminist academics.
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Published date: 25 April 2013
Venue - Dates:
Compelling Diversities: Educational Intersections, Gender and Education Annual Conference, London, United Kingdom, 2013-04-22 - 2013-04-25
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Local EPrints ID: 353536
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/353536
PURE UUID: 43e0dffb-b0f5-4d7e-acc5-a2f5fea9bc5f
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Date deposited: 11 Jun 2013 13:01
Last modified: 11 Dec 2021 02:17
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Contributors
Author:
Jayne Osgood
Author:
Kalwant Bhopal
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