Sponsored by the Office for History of Science and Technology (UC Berkeley)
And the History of Health Sciences Program (UCSF)
Rima D. Apple
University of Wisconsin, Madison
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Scientific Motherhood: How Women Learned to be Modern Mothers
Scientific motherhood refined and redefined what it means to be a good mother, a proper mother. Throughout our history, motherhood has been considered a primary, if not the primary role of women, a time-honored tradition in U.S. society, and most women did become mothers. But the foundation of appropriate mothering has shifted over the decades from a natural, inborn ability to care for children akin to maternal love into a skill that requires extensive training. Women increasingly allowed and even encouraged scientific and medical experts to intervene in their daily lives, to such an extent that even everyday childrearing tasks, such as bathing and dressing, became medicalized. The analysis of scientific motherhood reveals women coping with the trials and tribulations of the daily grind of childrearing, as well as the trauma of illness. It documents the ways in which women accepted, rejected, and reshaped medical and scientific pronouncements in order to ensure the health and well-being of their children.
4:00PM
Monday, September 25, 2006
140 Barrows Hall
UC Berkeley
Office for History of Science and Technology, 543 Stephens Hall #2350
University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-2350
tel: (510) 642-4581, e-mail: ohst@berkeley.edu
