MOTHERHOOD: PROMISE OR PERIL in Fall 2020 (CL1099FB4)

When women are still encouraged to embrace “having it all,” maternity remains central to social constructions of femininity. This class will explore the connections between reproduction, motherhood, and sexuality through a feminist lens, refuting the fallacy of “maternal instinct” and considering the global political, economic, and racial inequality in normative heterosexual reproduction. In order to better understand the cultural, social, and economic implications of contemporary motherhoods, we will talk about contraception, abortion, reproductive technologies, adoption, surrogacy, the global outsourcing of childcare and affective labor, the mommy wars, queer maternities. This cross-listed course will explore contemporary maternities through literature and provide an introduction to feminist theory with readings, including The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson, selections in feminist science fiction, and non-fiction or theoretical texts.