NEW COURSE PROPOSAL
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL
Title of course:
Philosophies of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Mothering
Shortened version of title for schedule and transcript. (30 characters including spaces):
Philosophies of Mothering
Department and course number:
PHL/WST 459
Number of credits: 3
Variable credit?
No
Is the course repeatable for additional credit?
No
Effective date:
Fall 2011
Proposed for General Education option?
Yes-Diversity
Scheduling course information:
Is it lecture, laboratory, discussion, seminar, independent study, field study or thesis research?
Primarily discussion and student presentations
Does the course have a required attached lab for zero credit?
No
Does enrollment require the consent of the instructor?
No
Department?
No
Grade basis:
A = 100% - 90% B = 89 – 80% C = 79% - 70% D = 69% - 60% F = 59% and below
Catalog description:
This course will explore pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering from two perspectives—the embodied experience
of women and its political-social context. We will consider how women’s first-hand experiences of
motherhood are responses to a broader social milieu. This approach will enable us to think about a variety of
philosophical themes and questions with regard to our topic including.
Prerequisites:
None
Main Units:
See attached
Objectives of the course:
 Engage philosophically with interdisciplinary texts
 Understand the dual influences of embodiment, and material/political/social context on women’s lives
 Gain ability to explain philosophical concepts in written and oral form
Evaluation procedures and techniques:
Class facilitation will be evaluated by the class, using an evaluation sheet designed by the class as a whole.
See attached for paper evaluations
Special projects, term papers, class reports, etc.:
Midterm and Final papers
Class Facilitation
Each week, beginning in week two, a group of students will lead the class. This task will have three components:
1) Presentation of the themes from the week’s readings
2) Pose questions or topics for group discussion
3) Facilitate a group discussion
Library or other physical resources to support the course:
N/A
Need for Additional resources:
N/A
Course(s) to be dropped:
N/A
Attach appropriate minutes showing approval.
Name_____________________________________________________
Paper evaluation criteria
Assignment:________________________________________________
Basics:
o Is in 12 pt Times New Roman font and is double spaced
o Is stapled
o Paper was on time (if not, days late____)
o Includes an attached outline of thesis statement and supporting claims
Writing:
o Has a clearly stated thesis in the opening paragraph that is supported by the rest of the paper
o Is the appropriate length (2 pages), and is concise, not redundant
o Has few or no spelling and/or grammatical errors (misspellings will be circled)
o Is clearly written at the paragraph level
o Is clearly written at the sentence level
o Paper is well organized overall
o Words have been used appropriately (awkwardly used words will be circled)
o Quotes are well integrated into paper, appropriately chosen, understood, introduced, and followedthrough with an explanation
o Ideas or passages are attributed to their author, and page # is provided.
Content:
o Answers all aspects of the question(s) in the paper prompt
o Makes use of the required number of sources/readings
o Fairly and accurately represents the views of the authors mentioned
‘B’ level papers will have done all of the above.
‘C’ level papers will have done most of the above.
‘D’ level papers will have done only some of the above.
‘A’ level papers will have gone beyond the usual expectation in at least three of the following (in addition
to all of the above):
o Contains your own original and creative insights
o Demonstrates extraordinarily strong grasp of theory
o Uses compelling personal (or other) examples
o Gives the subject thought beyond what was required
o VERY clearly written
o Demonstrates a willingness to challenge your previous assumptions
Philosophies of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Mothering
Instructor: Sarah LaChance Adams
Course Description
This course will explore pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering from two perspectives—the embodied experience
of women and its political-social context. That is, we will consider how women’s first-hand experiences of
motherhood are responses to a broader social milieu. This approach will enable us to think about a variety of
philosophical themes and questions with regard to our topic including: philosophical method, embodiment, sex
& gender, the origins of ethics, moral obligation, virtue, moral luck, intersubjectivity, and oppression. Yet our
approach will also be cross-disciplinary, drawing from texts in medicine, education, politics, economics,
psychology, evolutionary biology, ecology, gender & women’s studies and, of course, philosophy. Students
going into a variety of careers will find this course immediately relevant. For example, nursing/pre-med
students will consider the manner in which they can assist women to have an empowering rather than
traumatizing childbirth experience, as well as how to foster bonding after birth. Those interested in education
will appreciate our concern with the pedagogical value of “feminine virtues.” Psychology students will reflect
on woman’s psychological development as we consider how motherhood provides new opportunities to develop
one’s emotional and intellectual capacities.
Week 1: Theoretical Background and Approach
Readings:
 “Feminist Phenomenology,” Linda Martin Alcoff
 Forward from Of Woman Born, Adrienne Rich
 “The Philosophical Significance of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Mothering” Adams and Lundquist
Week 2: The Experience of Pregnancy
Readings:1
 “Pregnant Embodiment,” Iris Marion Young
 “On the Maternal Order,” Luce Irigaray
 “Motherhood,” Simone de Beauvoir
Week 3: Fertility—Surrogacy & Miscarriage
Readings:
 “Cutting Motherhood in Two: Some Suspicions Concerning Surrogacy,” Hilde and James Lindemann
Nelson
 “Birthing Responsibility: A Phenomenological Perspective on the Moral Significance of Birth,” Gail
Weiss
 “Re-orienting the Ethics of Transnational Surrogacy as a Feminist Pragmatist,” Amrita Banerjee
 “A Phenomenological Reading of Miscarriage,” Jennifer Scuro
Week 4: Unwanted Pregnancy
Viewing “No Easy Decision”
Additional recommended (not required) readings could include: “Renaturalizing the Body (With the Help of Merleau-Ponty),” Carol
Bogwood; “The Early Relationship of Mother and Pre-Infant: Merleau-Ponty and Pregnancy” Francine Wynn; “Original Habitation:
Pregnant Flesh as Absolute Hospitality,” Frances Gray; and
“The Vision of the Artist/Mother: The Strange Creativity of Painting and Pregnancy,” Florentien Verhage.
1
Readings:
 “Abortion is a Motherhood Issue,” Judith Arcana
 “The Pro-Choice Pro-Lifer: Battling the False Dichotomy,” Bertha Manninen
 “Being Torn: Toward a Phenomenology of Unwanted Pregnancy,” Caroline Lundquist
Week 5: The Experience of Childbirth
Viewing: “Orgasmic Birth”
Readings
 “What my Mother Never Told Me, or How I Was Blindsided by Childbirth and Survived,” Rahina
Reiko Rizzuto
 “Giving Birth,” Naomi Wolf
 “Childbirth and the Sublime,” Shelia Lintott
 “Of Courage Born: Reflections on Childbirth and Manly Courage,” Kayley Varnallis
Week 6: The Politics of Childbirth
Viewing: “The Business of Being Born”
Guest Panel: An obstetrician and a midwife
Readings:
 American Congress of Obstetrics & Gynecologists, “Statement on Home Births” (Blackboard)
 “Disempowered Women? The Midwifery Model and Medical Intervention,” Sonya Charles
 “The Political ‘Nature’ of Pregnancy and Childbirth,” Candace Johnson
Week 7: The Experience and Social Context of Breastfeeding
Readings:
 “Milk and Flesh: A Phenomenological Reflection on Infancy and Coexistence,” Eva Simms
 “Breasted Experience,” Iris Young
 “Exposing the Breast: The Animal and the Abject in American Attitudes Toward Breastfeeding,”
Rebecca Tuvell
Week 8: Maternal Instinct
Readings:
 “The Maternal Instinct,” Caroline Whitbeck
 Excerpts from Mother Nature, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
 Excerpts from Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education, Nel Noddings
 “Some Concerns about Nel Nodding’s Caring,” Sarah Lucia Hoagland
Week 9: The Moral Significance of Maternal Care
Readings:
 Excerpts from Love’s Labor, Eva Kittay
 “A Feminist Ethic and the New Romanticism—Mothering as a Model of Moral Relations,” Paul
Lauritzen
Week 10: The Political Significance of Maternal Care
Readings:
 Excerpts from Feminist Morality, Virginia Held
 Excerpts from Maternal Thinking, Sara Ruddick
Week 11: Maternal Ambivalence
Readings:
 “Anger and Tenderness,” Adrienne Rich
 “Love with Teeth,” Adrienne Jones
 Excerpts from Torn in Two: The Experience of Maternal Ambivalence, Rozsika Parker
Week 12: Work, Mothering, and Sharing the Labor
Viewing: “Chain of Love”
Readings:
 “Calling it Fair,” Naomi Wolf,
 Excerpts from The Mommy Tax, Ann Crittenden
 “The Care Crisis in the Philippines,” Rhacel Salazar Parreñas,
Week 13: Male “Mothers”
Readings:
 “Among Freakshows and Females: The Vexing Case of the Pregnant Man,” Patricia Morris
 Excerpts from The Daddy Shift, Jeremy Adam Smith
 Excerpts from Maternal Thinking, Sara Ruddick
Week 14 Mothering and the Environment
Readings:
Excerpts from Having Faith: An Ecologist’s Journey to Motherhood, Sandra Steingraber
“The Ecofeminist Imperative,” Ynestra King
Week 15 TBD
Possibilities:
 Adoption
 Pregnancy in Prison
 Lesbian mothering
 Black Motherhoods
 Latina/Chicana Mothering
 Motherhood and Madness