Join the John Brown House Museum, a museum of the Rhode Island Historical Society, on Thursday, May 29, at 5:30 p.m. for a talk from Dr. Ellen Malenas Ledoux on her book Laboring Mothers, exploring the relationship between motherhood and work in the eighteenth century.
During this lecture, Ledoux will explore feminist perspectives of working mothers, addressing both actual historical women and fabricated representations. She will demonstrate how ideas about motherhood and the public sphere shaped power and privilege among working mothers. For centuries, popular culture has questioned whether women can be both productive and reproductive at the same time. While raising and providing for a family should, in theory, unite women, this has not historically proven to be the case. Dr. Ledoux will explore how today’s associations surrounding economic status, race, and working motherhood have their roots in an antiquated and rigid system of inequality among women that dates back to the Enlightenment.
Guests may enjoy a light reception prior to the talk. The reception begins at 4:30 p.m., with the talk starting at 5:30 p.m. Advance tickets are recommended as space is limited. Individuals can register for this talk by visiting rihs.simpletix.com.
Ledoux is an Associate Professor in the English and Communications Department at Rutgers University-Camden, with a research focus on transatlantic literature of the eighteenth century. She is the author of two books: Laboring Mothers: Reproducing Women and Work in the Eighteenth Century (University of Virginia Press, 2023) and Social Reform in Gothic Writing: Fantastic Forms of Change, 1764-1834 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). She has published widely on women’s cultural history and Gothic writing in journals such as Early American Literature, Studies in Romanticism, The Eighteenth Century: Theory and Interpretation, Women’s Writing, and Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture.
The Rhode Island Historical Society, the state's oldest and only statewide historical organization, is dedicated to honoring, interpreting and sharing Rhode Island's past to enrich the present and inspire the future. Founded in 1822, the RIHS is an advocate for history as a means to develop empathy and 21st -century skills, using its historical materials and knowledge to explore topics of timeless relevance and public interest. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, it is dedicated to providing high-quality, accessible public programming and educational opportunities for all Rhode Islanders through its four sites: the John Brown House Museum, the Museum of Work & Culture, the Mary Elizabeth Robinson Research Center and the Aldrich House.
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