This lecture is a RECORDING ONLY - after purchasing your Pay What You Can ticket you will be able to access the link to the recording of this class via the ticket page. Please reach out to hello@feministlectureprogram.com if you run into any issues.
After purchasing, you will have until Monday 3rd November to watch this recording.
We hope you enjoy the class!
LECTURE DESCRIPTION
Join guest lecturers Holly Isard & Jo Harrison to explore reproductive labour and breastfeeding as work and for an extensive Q&A discussion.
"In a context of severe time poverty, double-cup, hands-free pumps are considered the most desirable, as they permit one to express milk from both breasts at once while driving to work on the freeway.”
– Nancy Fraser, 2016
Waged or unwaged, breastfeeding is and has always been work. Looking back through its history one finds examples of wet-nursing, lactation porn, cell-culturing and human milk banks. Using social reproduction theory as a framework, this session will use examples from the history of art and popular culture to track the contradictions of breastfeeding under capitalism. From medieval altarpieces of the Madonna breastfeeding, and early modern paintings of Roman Charity nursing her father, through to contemporary works of techno-optimism and Instagram posts of breast pumping celebrities. As these depictions of breastfeeding play out on screen a number of threads emerge: the fetishisation of breast milk; breastfeeding as a social relation; maternal generosity; denaturalisings; biocapitalism and the value of breast milk, amongst others. Weaving image with word demonstrates the many forms of breastfeeding as labour across history.
Join lecturers Holly Isard and Jo Harrison for a whistle-stop art historical tour through images of breastfeeding which will explore reproductive labour and breastfeeding as work. Followed by Q&A which welcomes open discussion with the group further exploring examples of reproductive labour (including and beyond breastfeeding) and how this is entangled within the contradictory landscape of capitalism. Expect to learn about the concept of social reproduction theory – a core concept within feminist theory.
THIS RECORDED CLASS IS AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY.
CLASS EXPIRES ON 3RD NOVEMBER
ABOUT OUR LECTURER
Jo Harrison (she/her) is founder and curator of 'Repronomics', an ACE funded research project exploring the intersection of reproduction and economics through the lens of visual arts. She is Director at The Approach, London and recently co-founded and launched The Arts Working Parents Alliance with Hettie Judah. AWP is a UK based peer network, seeking to make the art industry a more accessible and welcoming place for parents.
Holly Isard (she/her) is a Wellcome Trust funded PhD student at the University of West London, where she is part of the Gender, Technology and Work research cluster. Starting from the position that all gestation can be thought through the lens of labour, her research explores the politics of reproductive technologies in visual culture."
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RECORDING DETAILS
This is a recording only lecture. You can access this class as soon as you book by heading to the online event page. The expiration of the recording is listed in the description.
Please ensure you watch the class before the recording expires as we may not be able to provide extensions.
PAY WHAT YOU CAN
Everyone is welcome to join this Pay-What-You-Can class. We suggest a donation of £20, however, we understand that may not be possible for everybody. Please be honest and pay what you can afford so that we can continue to offer our sessions on a donation basis.
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