Birthing the Future: Eighteenth-Century Midwifery and Obstetrics

We invite submissions on long 18th-century midwifery and obstetrics studies to be presented as a panel at the 16th International Congress for 18th-Century Studies, July 3-7, 2023 in Rome (ISECS 2023). Investigations can include, but are not limited to:

• understandings of pregnancy, labor, and postpartum processes and practices;

• analyses of textual and visual rhetoric in midwifery manuals and obstetrics works;

• readings of material artifacts (e.g., medical instruments, birthing spaces, pharmaceutics); 

• investigations of cultural knowledges and traditions regarding pregnancy and labor in literature, journalism, medical writing, etc.

We particularly encourage papers with a transnational, multi-generic, and cross-disciplinary scope.

Please email an abstract of no more than 300 words, a short 3rd-person biography paragraph (max. 100 words), 4-6 keywords, a title for your paper, and a list of 2-3 of works you’ll likely consult, by August 15, 2022 to Courtney Hoffman (courtney.hoffman@lmc.gatech.edu) and Doreen Thierauf (dthierauf@ncwc.edu).