Academic Mothers
by Venitha Pillay (9781858564173)

Academic mothers are likely to be middle class, have access to some form of child care, live in a democracy and have legal rights and protections. Yet, as the book reveals, there are still freedoms that these women are unable to achieve. Academic mothers are engaged in intellectual work that has traditionally been the domain of men. Thinking has been described by Western philosophers over the centuries as rational, unemotional and logical; the woman who is a mother is nurturing, loving, emotional and sensitive. This book explores how these perceived oppositional identities live within the same person. It argues that the intellectual, emotional and personal liberation of women and society is about far more than revised structural arrangements in the workplace: it demands reconceptualizing work, the self and family.In telling the stories of three academic mothers in South Africa, the book breaks new methodological ground for qualitative researchers. It also contributes to feminist research methodologies by revealing the intimacy between methodological decisions and the ontology of the text. Published in collaboration with UNISA.

USD $31.00

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