Patricia Hill Collins: Reconceiving Motherhood
Edited by Kalia Adia Story
Patricia Hill Collins has given new meaning to the institution of motherhood throughout her publishing career. Introducing scholars to new conceptions, such as, “othermothering” and “mothering of mind,” Collins through her creative and multifaceted analysis of the institution of motherhood, has in a large sense, reconceived what it means to be a mother in a national and transnational context. By connecting motherhood as an institution to manifestations of empire, racism, classism, and heteronormativity, Collins has informed and invented new understandings of the institution as a whole. This anthology explores the impact/influence/ and/or importance of Patricia Hill Collins on motherhood research, adding to the existing literature on Motherhood and the conceptions of Family. In addition, this collection raises critical questions about the social and cultural meanings of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and mothering.
PRAISE
“This volume provides a broadly contextualized treatment of Patricia Hill Collins’ work focusing on black women and motherhood within a range of discourses including its use as a theoretical reflective lens, as a pedagogical tool, and as a construct for critical inquiry on the personal, academic and socio-political levels. By bringing Collins’ voice literally to the text with an interview between she and the author, the book allows the reader to gain even richer meaning from her seminal works, as well as to spark further inquiry and exploration on the intersectionality of race, gender and motherhood ”
— Karen T. Craddock, PhD, Faculty, Jean Baker Miller Training Institute | Wellesley Centers for Women
“The contributors to this volume bring sustained scholarly attention to the multiple ways in which Patricia Hill Collins unmasks oppressive ideologies of motherhood and reveals the creative and revolutionary practices of Black mothering. By assembling these voices together, Kaila Adia Story reminds us of the significance, scope, and relevance of Collins’ work for our understanding of how race, class, and sexuality inflect how motherhood is conceptualized, enforced, and practiced in the U.S.”
— Heather Hewett, Associate Professor of English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, SUNY New Paltz
