[ecrea] CFP, Domesticity Reader

Problems We Can Name: Subverting Domesticity Past and Present

A Reader

"I make these lists [of books] but when on earth will I ever get a
chance to read these? Since having kids, instead of reading I do
something with them or for them or clean up. I always have this sense of
domestic responsibility that makes reading feel self-indulgent but
that’s ridiculous,"- Jennifer Egan

When even Pulitzer Prize winning author Jennifer Egan feels strung
between work and domestic responsibility, the rest of us mortals must be
in good company. In every field—women's* writing, women's professional
lives, women's art, etc.—the unspoken assumption is that domesticity
will be the centering force in a woman’s life. As our cultural
conceptions of family change with recent triumphs like the legalization
of gay marriage, and the fact of more and more couples choosing not to
have children, how do our definitions of domesticity and our
expectations of women in the home evolve or remain the same? As women
still want to “have it all,” and come to realize that we cannot, how
have—or will—our perceptions of femininity change? How does the domestic
come into balance with women's ambition and creativity? /Is/ there still
an unspoken assumption that domesticity will be the centering force in a
woman's life? Has gay or trans culture changed the ways that women are
perceived and expected to perform? With recent shifts in the US work
force, more men are staying home to raise the children—has this resulted
in a change in our culture’s understanding of domesticity? Have race
relations and shifts in class dynamics affected who takes on domestic
duties? How are women, men, and non-binary people undermining
expectations of domesticity in business, art, literature, etc.?

The domesticity reader will examine the historical constructions of the
domestic and its contemporary legacies. We’re interested in essays that
draw from pop culture and current events to offer new definitions or
critiques; analyses of historical or contemporary literature, texts
(written, visual, or otherwise), or events; highlights work that inverts
or subverts norms by pressuring the borders and boundaries, conforms to
or challenges conventional assumptions of domesticity.

We welcome scholarly and hybrid (critical-creative) essays, including
shorter 1,200-1,500 word pieces, and visual art, addressing or bridging
historical or contemporary issues around domesticity.

Please send completed essays or images (JPEG/TIFF 300 dpi), and a
200-word bio to: (DomesticityReader /at/ gmail.com)
<mailto:(DomesticityReader /at/ gmail.com)>by July 15, 2016.

The book is not yet under contract.

Editors: Anna Brecke & Rachel May

* The editors consider “woman” to include all those who self-identify as
such.

*Themes & subjects to consider:*

Motherhood—biological, adoptive, surrogate, and otherwise defined

Mommy-blogging

Work-life balance

The cult of domesticity, historical & contemporary

Representations  of house and home from the 19^th century to today

The cult of the child historical & contemporary

The "new" domesticity

Housework

Gender roles in the home, work, other spheres

The third space

Parenting, conventionally & broadly defined

Nannies, baby nurses, home health aides

GLBTQ issues in connection with domesticity

Power dynamics

Domestic abuse

Race and class

The history of African-American women in domestic spaces

Enslaved and indentured workers

Global definitions of domesticity & domestic/work roles


Rachel May, PhD, MFA
Assistant Professor
Northern Michigan University
/Quilting with a Modern Slant <http://www.quiltingwithamodernslant.com>/
www.rachelsmay.com <http://www.rachelsmay.com>

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