I will be presenting my research into Australian women's art and writing, motherhood and communication studies at the groundbreaking international conference Mothers and History: Histories of Motherhood hosted by MIRCI (Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement), York University, Toronto, May 10-12th 2012.
My research rethinks Australian cultural and family histories during the 20th century, and the generations in which countless thousands of mothers were excluded from official records and 'banished' from family memory.
My presentation outline is in the abstract:
Remembering Australia’s Forgotten Mothers
This paper discusses research into hidden histories in Australia and processes of finding and reclaiming mothers and grandmothers lost from the public record in the 20th century decades of ‘the stolen generations’, when children were taken for adoption under a White Australia colonial policy of assimilation. Fanon showed how in colonial societies colonizers are as damaged as the colonized. This paper discusses personal and cultural effects of social deceptions, ‘white lies’ and identity–loss on descendants of mothers and grandmothers erased from family history, and the shift from observer to participant experienced by the author. When researching a grant on Indigenous and non-Indigenous contemporary women artists in international context I found a secret lost grandmother in my family history. Part of my research is in interviewing and dialogue with artists working with themes of the mother, and grandmother, in their art including Mary Kelly, and Aboriginal artist Fiona Foley’s work on hidden histories. The paper will show how these experiences led to ongoing art writing projects to rewrite forgotten mothers back into family and cultural history. This research was assisted by an Australia Council Visual Arts New Work grant.
Dr Ruth Skilbeck is a writer and lecturer at the Journalism and Media Research Centre, University of New South Wales. Her current research is in women’s art and writing, motherhood feminism, media and cultural studies. Her work is published in the media, scholarly journals and book chapters.
Ruth Skilbeck's conference trip is generously sponsored by the Journalism and Media Research Centre, at the University of New South wales.
© Copyright Ruth Skilbeck, 2012
2 comments:
There does seem to be an unusual degree of distrust between men and women in Australia, one sees it in 'real' life and it is constantly reflected upon in the media, particularly the ABC. Is it statistically more common in Australia than in other cultures?
Hi Charles, I'll get back to you on the statistics. Interesting conversations on facebook, like your idea that in cultures where the mother is not venerated, or treated equitably, there is increased maternal abandonment and therefore one may tend to assume the cycle of distrust is a vicious circle.
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