Sophia University Institute

Mark your calendar for the second On-life seminar of The Economy of Francesco. This time, with Consuelo Corradi, professor of sociology at LUMSA University. Friday, September 18th. From 3 to 4:30 P.M.

This webinar aims to explore some of the fundamental notions that connect the narrative of feminist emancipation to the experience of motherhood. It elucidates any inherent contradictions, appraises their implications for motherhood and assesses their respective salience today for feminist thought. It does so, in particular, by setting motherhood in a wider context where contradictions to feminist theory surface clearly: namely, through dialogues from empirical findings brought in contemporary motherhood studies and in the context of surrogacy and artificial reproductive technologies (ARTs). Ostensibly, one of the prominent tenets of classic feminism has been its disparaging view of motherhood as being the bastion of women’s subordination in a patriarchal society - the corollary being that the emancipation of women could happen only through opposition to or, at best, despite motherhood. 

The conclusion raises the issue of “mothering as empowerment” as a missing piece in the broader landscape of feminist theory, particularly in light of findings that there is a significant concurrence of values and practices characterizing how women with children self-define themselves, as both moral and social agents.

- Translations to Spanish, Portuguese and Italian will be available on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86369208009