Call for Abstracts – International Symposium on Matrescence
Abstract submissions are now open for individual papers and/or panel proposals to be presented at a one-day international symposium on the theme of matrescence, to be held on Thursday 17 July 2025, in hybrid format (online and in person at the University of Queensland’s Brisbane City campus, Australia).
The term matrescence—first coined by medical anthropologist Dana Raphael in the 1970s—describes the complex process of becoming a mother. Like adolescence, it marks a significant period of transition, bringing emotional, social, physiological, spiritual, and political changes, many of which are both profound and enduring.
Despite increasing interest in maternal wellbeing, experiences of conception, pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood continue to receive limited cultural and scholarly attention in the West. This lack of engagement has wide-ranging implications for maternal, infant, and family wellbeing—and for society at large.
This symposium seeks to spark renewed academic engagement with the concept of matrescence, encouraging both theoretical and empirical approaches. Contributions are especially welcome from the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, though interdisciplinary work and submissions from other fields are also encouraged. Both traditional academic presentations and more creative or experimental formats are welcome.
Potential areas of consideration include but are not limited to:
-Matrescence and Australian universities – experiences of academics and students
-Matrescence and philosophy
-Matrescence and rewriting mother-child relations
-First Nations experiences of and perspectives on matrescence
-Decolonial perspectives on matrescence
-How matrescence is shaped by intersecting experiences of class, race, ability, sexuality, and other social and identity markers
-The devaluation of mothering, care, and reproductive labour in early motherhood
-Economic factors influencing matrescence, such as poverty, financial dependence, paid and unpaid parental leave, returning to paid work, experiences of formal and informal childcare, etc.
-Queer experiences of and perspectives on matrescence
-Phenomenology of matrescence
-Matrescence and the media
-Matrescence and technology
-Matrescence and infant loss
-Matrescence and adoption
Attendance is free. Moreover, two $200 travel bursaries are available for HDR students and/or early-career or unwaged researchers. If you wish to be considered for a bursary, please indicate this in your submission and include a short explanation of how the support would benefit your participation.
Deadline for submission: Tuesday 17 June 2025, 17:00 (AEST). Please send a 200-word abstract and a short bio to: matrescence.symposium@gmail.com. In your email, please specify whether you intend to attend in person or online.
