Histoire des représentations de la grossesse

Perceptions of Pregnancy: From the Medieval to the Modern

Call for contributions

Organised by School of Humanities, University of Hertfordshire


16 – 18 July 2014



Keynote Speakers:

Professor Joanne Bailey (Oxford Brooks University)
Dr Elaine Farrell (Queen’s University Belfast)


This three day conference aims to bring together scholars working across a range of disciplines, time periods and global perspectives to examine perceptions of pregnancy throughout history. We welcome papers considering a range of issues, including, but not limited to, 

• Pregnancy, including the pregnant body and the experience of pregnancy, 
• Unlawful pregnancy, including rape, incest and sexual abuse, 
• Fertility and infertility, including IVF, miscarriage and still-birth, 
• Abortion and contraception, including pro-life and pro-choice debate, 
• Parenthood, single parenthood, and infanticide. 

Potential themes for discussion are:

• Magic, ritual and religion, 
• Technology and medicine, 
• Gender, including male involvement and experiences, 
• Government policy and politics, 
• Work life, domesticity and childcare. 

300-word proposals for twenty-minute papers should be sent to the conference organisers by 1 February 2014. We welcome postgraduate papers. Informal enquiries can be directed to Dr Jennifer Evans (j.evans5@herts.ac.uk) and Dr Ciara Meehan (c.meehan2@herts.ac.uk).


Updates will be added to http://perceptionsofpregnancy.wordpress.com/