Becoming A Mother

Date : May 6, 2000

Location : Harry Crowe Room, 109 Atkinson College, York University, Toronto, ON

Programme 8:45-9:15 am coffee/tea and muffins 9:15-9:30 am Welcome 9:30-10:45 am Session 1

PREGNANCY Chair: Lorna Turnbull (York University, Canada) Carol Brownstein-Evans (SUNY College at Brockport, USA) “Negotiating the Meaning of Motherhood: Women in Addiction and Recovery” Lorna Turnbull (York University, Canada) “Bearing Children, Bearing Burdens” Gill Wright Miller (Denison University, USA) “Performing Pregnancy: Choreographic Fruits of the Womb”

10:45-11:00 am BREAK 11:00 am-12:15 pm Session 2

BIRTH Chair: Heather Mains (York University, Canada) Tracy Kennedy (Brock University, Canada) “Childbirth: Who’s Body Is It Anyway? A Woman’s Narrative of Giving Birth” Heather Mains (York University, Canada) “Choice vs. Option: Exploring the Druthers of Pregnant Women” Jill Deans (Kansas State University, USA) “’Natural’ Birth: An Adoptee Becomes a Mother”

12:15-1:15 pm LUNCH 1:15-2:30 pm Session 3

ADJUSTING AFTER BIRTH Chair: Christy Taylor (artist, Toronto, ON, Canada) Justyna Szachowicz-Sempruch (University of British Columbia, Canada) “Articulating (my) Post-partum Depression” Christy Taylor (artist, Toronto, ON, Canada), Sherry Thompson (St. Joseph’s Women’s Health Centre, Canada), Grazyna Mancewicz (St. Joseph’s Women’s Health Centre, Canada) “Postpartum Depression: The “Blues” That Won’t Go Away” Rosie Rosenzweig (essayist, poet and author, Visiting Scholar in Brandeis University’s Women’s Studies, USA) “Honoring Motherhood: Getting Beyond the ‘I-It’ Relationship”

2:30-2:45 pm BREAK 2:45-4:15 pm Session 4

MULTIPLE MOTHERING IDENTITIES Chair: Kathleen Sorensen (York University, Canada) Diana Gustafson (OISE/University of Toronto, Canada) “Becoming a Non-Custodial Mother: Blood, Sweat and Tears” Kathleen Sorensen (York University, Canada) “Becoming A Single Mother” Nancy Salzer (Brandeis University, USA) “Collectanea: A Presentation” from “The Mother Files” Laurie Kruk (Nipissing University, Canada) “More Than One, Less Than Two: Canadian Poets Becoming Mothers”

4:15-4:30 pm BREAK 4:30-6:00 pm Session 5

NEW MOTHERING AND WORK Chair: Andrea O’Reilly (York University, Canada) Roberta Guerrina (Nottingham Trent University, UK) “Mothering in Europe: A Feminist Critique of European Policies on Motherhood and Employment” Ruth Nemzoff (Bentley College, USA) “Making Babies, Making Laws” Ginette Lafrenière (McGill University, Canada) “Dinosaurs, Term Papers and Pokemon: Reframing Motherhood in Academia”

6:00-6:15 pm CLOSING 6:30-8:00 pm Dinner (Graduate Lounge, 7th floor Ross Building)

8:00-11:00 pm Mother’s Day Celebration and Launch for The Journal of the Association forResearch on Mothering Vol. 2 No. 1 on “Mothers and Sons” (S836 Ross) An evening of art, poetry and stories featuring a reading by acclaimed poet Di Brandt! Nibbles and Drinks (cash bar)