CMW Community

CALL FOR PAPERS
Demeter Press
is seeking submissions for an edited collection on

MENNONITE MOTHERING

Co-Editors: Rachel Epp Buller and Kerry Fast
Publication Date: 2012/2013

Deadline for abstracts: May 31, 2011!
This collection of scholarly essays will explore the connections between mothering / motherhood and Mennonite religion and culture, broadly defined. There are thriving Mennonite communities in Canada and the United States as well as in many pockets of Central and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Religious traditions, cultural stereotypes, and societal (mis)perceptions all contribute to varied understanding of maternal roles in Mennonite life. Rhoda Janzen's bestselling memoir, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, which played heavily upon traditional gender roles, recently brought much mainstream attention to Mennonite culture. We invite papers from a wide range of disciplines that speak to historical and present-day perceptions and expectations of Mennonite maternal experiences. We especially encourage papers that address mothering in old order communities of North and South America and in other Mennonite contexts around the world.

Suggested topics may include but are not limited to:
Nonviolent mothering; activist mothering; transnational mothering; perspectives of young Mennonite mothers; intergenerational mothering; mothering in the mission field or in relief and development work; gender roles in a Mennonite context; Mennonite mothering and the arts; mothering in historical Mennonite communities; shifting socio-cultural perceptions of Mennonite mothering; lesbian mothering in a Mennonite setting; religious expectations of mothers; Mennonite relationships with the sacred maternal; Mennonite mothers and domesticity; mothers as purveyors of religious-cultural heritage; and more.

Submission guidelines:
Abstracts: 250 words. Please include a brief biography (with citizenship information).
Deadline for abstracts is May 31, 2011
Please send submissions to both:
Rachel Epp Buller, rachel@ddtr.net and Kerry Fast, kfast@chass.utoronto.ca
Subject line: Mennonite mothering abstract
(and please include citizenship information with your submission)
Accepted papers of 4000-5000 words (15-20 pages) will be due December 1, 2011
and should conform to MLA style.