The panel "Abortion, Single Motherhood, and Adoption Schemes in Magdalene Literature" will take place at the 56th Annual Convention of the Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA) organised from March 6 to March 9 in Philadelphia, PA. 

Magdalenism is a structure which was implemented from the mid-seventeenth century to the end of the twentieth century in about 60 European and Europeanised countries around the world. Its objective was to control and fashion femininity, women’s social behaviours, and their sexuality. At a time when abortion was illegal in most countries, Magdalene Laundries and Mother and Baby “Homes” were often seen as a “solution” for unmarried pregnant girls and women.

This panel offers to examine Magdalene literature – literature about Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby “Homes”, and illegal adoption schemes – beyond the borders of Irish studies. Taking a transcultural and multilingual approach to Magdalene trauma can declutter narratives written by and imagined on Magdalene survivors of the first and second generations as well as highlight the specificities of their personal experiences of Magdalenism, depending on their social class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and abilities. In settler colonies, Truth and Reconciliation Commissions have shown that Indigenous, mixed-race, non-white, and disabled Magdalenes and Magdalene children were especially discriminated against in these institutions.

Proposals on the following topics are particularly welcome (although other ideas can be raised too):   

-        Magdalene literature and restorative justice

-        The character of the Magdalene “penitent” and the collective imagination

-        Dystopic worlds and the control of female bodies

-        Women’s bodies as baby factories

-        Magdalene trauma as a transgenerational and intergenerational form of trauma

-        Forced separation of mothers and children and the cultural trauma of Indigenous communities 

-        Magdalene trauma and literary genres (crime fiction, female Bildungsromane, life writing, theatre, poetry, dystopia, etc)

-        The roles played by women in the implementation of Magdalenism

To submit an abstract, please go to the NeMLA portal: https://www.cfplist.com/nemla/Home/login before September 30, 2024.

In case you have any queries, please do contact the chair of the panel at mcberthiot.recherche@proton.me