Calling All Academic Mothers
October 7th, 2007CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS…
Professor Andrea O’Reilly is beginning a three-year SSHRCC funded research project on the topic “Being a Mother in the Academe.” The project will be based on interviews with 50 mothers across Canada, the United States, and Australia.
The interview will be approximately 1-2 hours in length.
If you are interested in participating in the study, please email Andrea O’Reilly at aoreilly[at]yorku.ca.
Full details of the study, including ethics protocol are available from Andrea. For more information, go to the Association of Research on Mothering website.
Time for Breastfeeding
September 28th, 2007From “Inside Higher Ed:”
“An appeals court in Massachusetts ruled Wednesday that a breast-feeding mother who is a student at Harvard Medical School is entitled to extra time during a licensing exam so she can pump milk for her child, The Boston Globe reported.”
This story marks the first time I’ve been grateful for the format of my all-day, at-home PhD qualifying exams: the exams were, at the very least, very breastfeeding-friendly.
New Column
September 14th, 2007Mama, PhD co-editor Elrena Evans debuts her Literary Mama column this week, Me and My House, which offers a look at her experiences mothering — as a Christian, as a feminist, as someone who can never seem to find the perfect pair of jeans. Look for “Me and My House” every month at Literary Mama.
And One More Review!
August 27th, 2007This one from Catherine Newman, author of Waiting for Birdy: A Year of Frantic Tedium, Neurotic Angst, and the Wild Magic of Growing a Family (Penguin, 2005). She says, “All those sleepless nights and dirty diapers and baby food in your hair — where’s the discursive construction of motherhood when you need it? It’s here, in these smart, funny, poignant essays that struggle to balance mind and body, to balance body and soul.”
A Review from Mary Ann Mason!
August 27th, 2007Another review is in!
Mary Ann Mason, author of Mothers on the Fast Track: How a New Generation Can Balance Families and Careers (Oxford University Press, 2007) says, “This is a charming, heartfelt book that expresses the difficulties and the joys of combining a life in academia with motherhood. Each story is different, but the experiences and challenges are widely shared.”
Good News from Rutgers
August 21st, 2007We’re proud to note today that the university associated with our publisher, Rutgers, is making family life easier for their faculty:
Eight weeks paid leave from teaching and service obligations for both faculty and TA/GAs of any gender who become parents (biological or adoptive). For birth mothers, these eight weeks are in addition to the previous contract’s six weeks of paid disability leave, resulting in fourteen weeks—an entire semester—of paid leave.
They’ve negotiated a host of other benefits, too. Read the whole story over at the AAUP website.
A Review from Robert Drago!
August 15th, 2007Our first review is in!
Robert Drago, author of Striking a Balance: Work, Family, Life (Dollars & Sense, 2007), says “Through the voices of those who have weathered the storm, Mama PhD fills a crucial gap in our understanding of why gender equity has been so difficult to achieve in academe. More importantly, it provides invaluable lessons for young scholars — both men and women — striving to navigate family and academic careers.”
New Fiction by Elrena Evans
August 13th, 2007Mama, PhD co-editor Elrena Evans’ story, “The Journey Home,” has been published by Literary Mama. Here’s an excerpt:
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It was day two of the journey home, and I missed Miriam. On the way to Yerushalayim for the Feast of the Passover our families had walked together, her friendship a welcome comfort on the dry, dusty road. But Yosef, her husband, had been eager to get back home to Nazerat, and my little ones were moving more slowly each day. “Go on ahead,†I’d finally told Miriam, midmorning on the first day after the Feast. “I’ll bring Yeshua back when we get to Nazarat. Or whenever I run out of food.â€
Miriam had laughed. Her eldest son, Yeshua, was my eldest son David’s constant companion. The boys were inseparable, so much so that when I looked at my family I either saw three children, or five. If Yeshua wasn’t around, neither was David.
One, two, three, four, five, I counted in silent rhythm as we walked, one, two, three, four, five. Five children. All present, all accounted for.
I paused for a moment on the dusty trail. Thoughts of Miriam slipped from my mind as I realized my feet were tired, my arms sore, and my overnursed breasts like smoldering coals beneath my dusty robe. One, two, three, four, five, I counted again. One, two, three, four, five.
I arched my back, shifted my daughter’s weight from one hip to the other. But as I moved her she awoke, instantly hungry, and began frantically searching for my breast. I sighed and called to my husband.
“Ba’al, we need to stop. Zahara needs to feed again.â€
He looked at me. “Why can’t you just feed her as we walk?â€
I closed my eyes and counted four breaths before I answered. It was useless getting angry with him, he’d never nursed a baby. He couldn’t understand. Once again, I missed Miriam.
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Click on over to Literary Mama to read the rest!
New Book by Susan O’Doherty
July 18th, 2007Mama, PhD contributor Susan O’Doherty’s new book, Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: A Woman’s Guide to Unblocking Creativity “is
a practical and accessible guidebook to help women overcome creative blocks.” I’m looking forward to reading it (and hoping it has a bit of advice for when it’s the kids’ building blocks impeding my work!) Watch for a review at Food for Thought.
New Book by Julia Lisella
July 17th, 2007Mama, PhD contributor Julia Lisella has published a new poetry collection, Terrain, a book “suffused with quiet rhythms: of birth and death, of pain and healing, of turbulence and calm. She maps a wide terrain indeed, and her haunting music touches both the ear and the heart.” Order it online from WordTech editions.
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