On Friday Nov 17th, Celia Roberts and Mary Lou Rasmussen (Sociology) will host a one-day interdisciplinary workshop to explore feminism and reproduction in the current moment. Today, we see increasing numbers of people making decisions to not have children, in part because of concerns related to climate crisis but also as a result of neoliberalism and changing gender and sexuality norms. At the same time, we observe the proliferation and normalisation of assisted reproductive technologies, such as egg freezing, in the context of changing processes of employment and family formation (including adoption, out of home care and queer and multi-species kinship). These somewhat contradictory impulses raise serious questions for feminist and queer researchers and activists, demanding new methods and concepts. The workshop was funded by the ANU Gender Institute to strengthen ties between scholars at the ANU, around Australia and internationally, in the hope of building an ongoing scholarly network. The workshop is scheduled to coincide with the arrival of Professor Charlotte Kroløkke from the University of Southern Denmark, who is an RSSS Visiting Fellow in the School of Sociology. Other invited participants include Prof Catherine Mills and Prof Andrea Whittaker (Monash University), Prof kylie valentine and Prof Jackie Leach Scully (UNSW), Dr Jennifer Hamilton (UNE) and Dr Blanche Verlie (University of Wollongong). PhD and ECRs students from ANU and Monash are also attending.

Book launch

The workshop will be preceded by a launch at 5-7pm on Thurs 16 Nov, of Reproduction, Kin and Climate Crisis: Making bushfire babies (Bristol University Press), a new book by Celia Roberts, Mary Lou Rasmussen, Louisa Allen and Rebecca Williamson. https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/reproduction-kin-and-climate-crisis

The launch will be held in the RSSS foyer. Prof Catherine Waldby (Sociology) and Prof Paul Dugdale (Medicine and Psychology) will briefly speak, and drinks, canapés and vegan cake provided. All welcome!