York University Hosts International Conference on Mothers and Sons

TORONTO, September 23, 1998 -- During an international conference at York University Sept. 25 to 27, scholars and award-winning writers from around the world will examine emerging and enduring notions about how mothers raise their sons.

Sponsored by the York University Centre for Feminist Research, Mothers and Sons Today: Challenges and Possibilities will feature keynote speakers addressing a wide range of issues around mother-son relationships: mothers and sons: race, sexuality and ability; mothers and sons in single-parent families; mothers, sons and the mental health professions; mother-son relationships in literature. A selection of titles shows the breadth of scholarship:

ėNeither Wimps nor Warriors': How Do Mothers Mediate ėMasculinity' for their Sons?

Mother-Son Relationships in the Shadow of War

Can Men ėMother'?

Useless Dogs, Heart-throbs, or Supportive Dads? Contrasting Views of Boyfriends in the Lives of Mothers

Non-mothering and Childlessness

Mothers and Sons in the Fiction of Margaret Atwood

Mother-Blaming by Clinicians: Maternal Narratives

Lesbians Raising Sons: Bringing Up a New Breed of Men

ėMy Sons Will Fight for the Land of Israel': Maternal Thinking, Nationalism, and Collective Identity"

"Mothers and sons is emerging as a central issue in feminist studies, and this conference represents the first major forum of its kind," says Conference Coordinator Andrea O'Reilly, who also teaches at York's School for Women's Studies. "Examining the relationship between mothers and sons is essential to fostering better and healthier relationships between men and women in our society. This conference is about mothers trying to raise their sons in a better way, and about teaching sons new and positive modes of masculinity."

The conference, which builds on the momentum generated by last year's Mothers and Daughters conference, has drawn interest from more than 200 scholars across North America and from as far afield as Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom and Israel.

Among the keynote speakers sharing their scholarship and insight:

Marni Jackson is a Toronto journalist and author of the bestselling Canadian book "The Mother Zone". Her writing on cultural and family matters has won numerous awards. Jackson's conference address is entitled "Tuck Me In: Redefining Attachment Between Mothers and Sons."

Mary Kay Blakely is an award-winning American journalist, associate journalism professor at the University of Missouri, and mother of two grown sons. Her essays on mothering issues have appeared in such publications as Time, Psychology Today, Mirabella, Mother Jones, and Utne Reader. Blakely's presentation is entitled "American Mom: Reflections of an Outlaw."

Jeannette Corbiere Lavell is an Ojibway/Odawa from Manitoulin Island who led a successful fight against a Supreme Court ruling which denied her (and her sons), as well as other Canadian native women, legal Indian status for marrying a non-native or non-native status men. Corbiere Lavell will talk about Native perspectives on the mother and son relationship.

Anne-Marie Ambert, a York University Sociology professor who is currently working on her 11th book, has studied family relationships since 1964. She has focussed most recently on how children affect their parents, particularly their mothers. She will talk about Mother-Blaming by Clinicians: Maternal Narratives.

Media and conference registration starts at 12 noon, Friday, Sept. 25, in York's Vari Hall Rotunda. The first keynote address begins Friday at 7 p.m. For a copy of the complete agenda, please call the numbers below.

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For more information, please contact:

Andrea O'Reilly
Conference Coordinator
York Centre for Feminist Research
(416) 736-5915
email: mother@yorku.ca

Christy Taylor
Conference Organizer
York Centre for Feminist Research
(416) 736-2100, ext. 40206
email: mother@yorku.ca

Sine MacKinnon
Senior Advisor for Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22087
email: sinem@yorku.ca

Ken Turriff
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
email: kturriff@yorku.ca
YU/063/98