IAMAS Conference 2023

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   Theme: Mothering and Motherhood on the Home/Front

The homefront is generally imagined as a place we protect and where we are protected from hostilities and discomfort. Homelife stands in contrast to the public world of work, yet we know that work –both waged and unwaged – is part of home/work, particularly as Covid has forced many children and adults into increased uncertainty. The homeplace has a “radical political dimension” according to bell hooks and is a site “where one could resist.” We will examine the importance of home, mothering, and motherhood in its multiple meanings at our upcoming conference. Please submit your abstract on any of the following topics (or others that we have yet to imagine).

• Opting in/out of work and work/home balance;
• Race and class in mother/child, mother/co-parent, mother/mother, mother/caregiver relationships;
• Mothering across borders: Immigration/migration patterns and work visas/permits;
• Single, queer, other(ed) mothering in private and public spaces;
• Impact of Covid on mothers and mothering;
• (Blurring of) Separate spheres, public/private;
• Division of labor, emotional labor, unpaid labor;
• Universal basic income, maternity leave and paid leave;
• Unhoused and unsheltered mothers and mothering;
• Mothers removed and/or absent from the home;
• Mothers in the military;
• Mothering from an empty nest;
• Vulnerable Motherhood(s), disability/ableism in mother/work;
• Transnational motherhood/transnational mothers (and mother-scholars);
• National identity and mothering/motherhood;
• Capitalism, patriarchy, and property;
• Welfare state, safety nets, neoliberalism, and DIY carework.

Any research, theory, thought leadership and/or art centering motherhood research will be considered, regardless of overall fit with the theme. Please visit https://iamas.com or email Katie B. Garner at kbgarner@iamas.com for more information.

Conference Information – March 11-13, 2023 (Chicago, IL USA or online )

IAMAS  will offer a bevy of interactive panels and roundtables, a brilliant keynote workshop by Trina Greene Brown of Parenting for Liberation, lots of targeted workshops, time for meaningful dialogue, and our 3rd annual MOMA award. Our mentorship program continues to expand and will offer support to IAMAS members at various points in their careers.

IAMAS intends to offer a hybrid conference that will permit attendees to choose in-person or virtual for the March dates; both conferences will run simultaneously. Should Covid concerns prevent this option, we will be 100% virtual. In either scenario, online attendees can expect the fee structure shown below. In-person registration registration will require an additional surcharge of $100 to cover space and other hotel fees. As always, we will strive to remain accessible to all.

Email Katie B. Garner at kbgarner@iamas.com for more information.