Encyclopedia of Motherhood - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1412968461 ISBN 13: 9781412968461

Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc, 2010

Synopsis

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In the last decade the topic of motherhood has emerged as a distinct and established field of scholarly inquiry. A cursory review of motherhood research reveals that hundreds of scholarly articles have been published on almost every motherhood theme imaginable.

The first ever on the topic, this Encyclopedia of Motherhood helps to both demarcate motherhood as a scholarly field and an academic discipline and to direct its future development. With more than 700 entries, these three volumes provide information on the central terms, concepts, topics, issues, themes, debates, theories, and texts of this new discipline. Further, the encyclopedia examines the topic of motherhood in various contexts such as history and geography and by academic discipline.

Key Features

• Provides an overview of the topic of motherhood in many and diverse disciplines, such as anthropology, sociology, psychology and philosophy
• Examines the meaning and experience of motherhood in many time periods from classic civilizations to present day
• Includes an entry for all the influential theorists of maternal scholarship from the pioneering theories to the more recent writings
• Covers issues and events of our current times including entries on the mommy blog, the motherhood memoir, terrorism, reproductive technologies, HIV/AIDS, and LGBT families
• Explores geographical, cultural, and ethnic diversity with an entry for almost every country in the world as well as entries on lesbian, immigrant, adoptive, single, nonresidential, young, poor mothers and mothers with disabilities

Key Themes

• History of Motherhood
• Issues in Motherhood
• Motherhood and Family
• Motherhood and Health
• Motherhood and Society
• Motherhood Around the World
• Motherhood in the United States
• Motherhood Studies
• Prominent Mothers

In human society, few institutions are as important as motherhood, and this unique encyclopedia captures the interdisciplinary foundation of the subject in one convenient reference. The scope of the Encyclopedia of Motherhood is focused on providing a comprehensive resource to understanding the complexities of motherhood for academic and public libraries, written by scholars and institutional experts in the social and behavioral sciences.

About this title

About the Author:

Andrea O′Reilly, PhD, is Associate Professor in the School of Women′s Studies at York University. She is author, editor, or co-editor of more than a dozen books on motherhood, including Redefining Motherhood: Changing Identities & Patterns (1998), From Motherhood to Mothering (2004), Mother Matters: Mothering as Discourse & Practice (2004), Motherhood: Power & Oppression (2005), and Feminist Mothering (forthcoming, 2008).  Over the last nine years she has received thirteen Social Science Humanities Research Council of Canada grants including ten SSHRCC conference grants, one 3-year SSHRCC journal grant, and two 3-year SSHRCC standard grants.  Her research projects include a 3-year SSHRCC funded research project on “Being a Mother in the Academe” and a York Knowledge Mobilization research project on Young Motherhood.  O′Reilly is founder and director of The Association for Research on Mothering (ARM). Founded in 1998, ARM is the first feminist research association on the topic of mothering-motherhood and has more than 500 members worldwide.  As well, Dr. O’Reilly is founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering, the first, and still only, scholarly journal on motherhood.  Both ARM and its journal are recognized worldwide as the leading research center/journal on Motherhood.  In 2005 she launched Demeter Press, the first feminist press on motherhood, which has published four books and has another ten planned or in production.  In 1991 she designed Canada’s first university course on Motherhood.  Lastly, she is founder and director of “Mother Outlaws,” a feminist mother group, which is now established in cities around the world.  Dr. O’Reilly has presented her research at more than 50 conferences in over a dozen countries and was a keynote speaker at the National Women’s Studies Conference in 2006; likewise, she has given numerous talks at universities across North America and Europe.  O’Reilly’s achievements have attracted significant media attention; she has been interviewed widely on the topic of motherhood including appearances on “The Agenda,” “More to Life,” “Planet Parent,” “Canadian Living Television,” “The Star,” “The National Post,” “The Globe and Mail,” and “CBC Radio.” In 1998 she was the recipient of the University-wide "Teacher of the Year" award at York University, and in 2007 she was granted Atkinson’s prestigious “Outstanding Research Award.” Andrea and her common-law spouse of twenty-five years are the parents of a twenty-three year old son and two daughters, ages eighteen and twenty.

From Booklist:

This work seeks to present the “central terms, concepts, topics, issues, debates, theories, and texts of this new discipline of motherhood studies.” Editor O’Reilly is a well-respected and prolific scholar in the field, and she has created an interesting and accessible resource. Arranged in A–Z format, the more than 700 entries cover historical and modern theories and concepts as well as prominent mothers (Adams, Abigail; Jefferson, Thomas, mother of; Obama, Michelle). There are also entries for almost every county of the world as well as for every U.S. state. Entries average a page in length, with some stretching over several pages, and are signed and followed by see also notes and bibliographies. Also included are a list of contributors with affiliations, a “Chronology of Motherhood,” and a “Reader’s Guide,” which organizes entries under topics such as “History of Motherhood” and “Motherhood and Health.” Volume 3 contains a glossary and a “Resource Guide.” An appendix of “Motherhood Statistics around the World” offers statistics taken directly from the CIA World Factbook, with the exception of the “Save the Children Mothers’ Index Rating,” for which there is no explanation, making it difficult to understand and use without consulting an outside source. Entries are written in language easy for the lay reader to understand but with enough details for scholars to be satisfied. The topics are interesting, but with such a narrow focus, the title is best suited for an academic library. Public library patrons seeking help or advice in mothering will need to look elsewhere, but larger public libraries may want to consider this. Also available as an e-book. --Asia Gross

About this edition

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1412968461
• ISBN 13: 9781412968461
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1520
• Editor: O′Reilly Andrea