Download Mothers in Public and Political Life

CALL FOR PAPERS
Demeter Press
is seeking submissions for an edited collection entitled
"Mothers in Public and Political Life"
Co-Editors: Lily Pourzand Dr. Pınar Melis Yelsalı Parmaksız, Dr. Simone Bohn
Deadline for Abstracts: May 15, 2015
Even though in most nations women are almost half (if not the majority) of the population, in
very few countries do they occupy a similar space in the formal institutions of political power.
They are said to lack a key element for a successful career in public life: time. From this first
perspective, no one is in a worse off than women who are mothers. From another perspective,
however, motherhood is thought to help politicize women, as this life-changing experience
makes them aware of the limitations of some specific public policies (such as child-care,
maternal and paternal leave, gendered labor practices etc.) as well as more conscious of the
centrality of more encompassing public policies, such as education, health care, and social
assistance, both for the present and future generations.
This volume will explore the challenges, obstacles, opportunities and experiences of mothers
who take part in political and/or public life. We welcome submissions which examine how
public and/or political involvement could affect mothering and also how being a mother can
potentially change women's political and/or public life. Particularly, we would like to explore
how culture, social norms, political atmosphere, public views and personal or family life style
affect women's political and/or public life when they are mothers. We are equally interested in
works that examine how different mothering can be practiced by women who are politically
and/or publicly active. Also of high interest are studies that analyze the politicization of
women as mothers in times of social and political struggle or resistance, which may vary in
scope, such as, for instance, environmental campaigns by a local group of mothers, and/or
more national and even globalized political movements, of which the Mothers of the Plaza de
Mayo are an example.
Personal stories of women as mothers who are active in public or political life contribute to
illustrating the difficulties, opportunities and dilemmas stemming from the intersection of
politics and motherhood. As such, we welcome both scholarly as well as creative pieces to the
volume.
Topics may include (but not limited to):
Family life style and its challenges for mothers in political or public life; social judgments on
good/bad mothering on mothers in political or public life; no privacy or private mothering for
mothers in political or public life; women's domestic responsibilities and the constraints they
impose on mothers in political or public life; how children respond or react to mothers in
political or public life; public opinion on mothers in political or public life; the role of
partners on the political or public life of mothers; political parties or employers' expectations
from mothers in political or public life; male colleagues and mothers in political or public life;
media/social media and mothers in political or public life; childcare policies national/local
policies and their effect on mothers in political or public life.
We would like to have a balanced combination of creative pieces, personal stories as well as
scholarly research analyses in this collection. Please feel free to contact us with any
suggestions.
Submission Guidelines:
Please send abstracts of 150 to 250 words and a short bio by May 15, 2015. Acceptance will
be sent by June 30, 2015. Accepted abstracts have to submit the completed piece (2500 to
5000 words, double spaced with references in MLA format) by October 15, 2015.
Please send your inquiries and abstracts to editors:
[email protected], [email protected], and [email protected]
DEMETER PRESS
140 Holland St. West, P.O. Box 13022 Bradford, ON, L3Z 2Y5 (tel) 905-775-5215
http://www.demeterpress.org [email protected]