Time Schedule:
Mae C Henderson
SOC W 535
Seattle Campus
Examines current substantive topics in direct/interpersonal practice.
Class description
MOTHERHOOD:Ideologies, Agency, Community is an upper-level lecture/discussion seminar. The focus of the course is motherhood as experience, as a socially constructed institution, and as a defining concept in women’s lives whether she is a mother or not. In this course we will raise questions about how motherhood and women’s agency may be shaped by social, cultural, economic, and legal contexts. We will explore ways in which women experience the particularities of motherhood within and outside communities, how women experience very differing versions of motherhood and practiced mothering, and how our own theoretical perspectives and understandings about motherhood and mothering are informed within particular contexts. Paying particular attention to the diversity of women’s experiences, we will examine the influence of race, class, culture, sexuality, ability, and nationhood on motherhood and women’s mothering. Our task is not to arrive at definitive answers nor to adopt a universal view of motherhood and mothering but, to explore our roles as social actors and change agents and how we might contribute positively to women’s lives including their experiences as mothers.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading
