Ghosts, Clocks, and (Re)Production: Strands in the Tapestry of Stability/Change in Motherhood

Session Submission Type: Paper Session

Abstract

This panel consists of four papers which each highlight a unique aspect of the struggle between stability/change in maternity issues. The first paper offers an auto-ethnographic account of mothering in a post-bereaved family; the next two papers—also autoethnographies—focus on contradictions inherent in pursuing reproduction while following the rules of academic advancement and existing within the separate spheres of biological and tenure clocks. The final paper gives voice to three women’s experiences returning to work following maternity leaves.

Sub Unit

• Feminist and Women Studies Division

Individual Presentations

• Living with a Ghost: Managing Memory and Constructing New Ways of Being Together in Post Bereaved Families - Christine Kiesinger-Cherry, George Washington Univ

• The Bio-Tenure Clock: Stability-Change in (Work)life - Lisa Tillmann, Rollins College

• When the Irresistible Desire to Parent Meets the Immovable Object of Academic Life: A Tragicomedy - Elissa Foster, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network

• Stability/Change in Women’s Talk about Maternity Leave Experiences - Lori Peterson, St. Edwards University

Respondent

• Elizabeth Desnoyers-Colas, Armstrong Atlantic State University

Session Organizer

• Katherine Karsnak, National Communication Association