NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2005

Contact: Angie Joe
713.743.8153 (office)
713.617.7138 (pager)
ajoe@uh.edu
MOM KNOWS BEST: CONFERENCE AT UH
EXPLORES MOTHERHOOD’S CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES

The changing dynamics of motherhood will be the focus of an upcoming conference hosted by the Women’s Studies Program at the University of Houston.

Balancing family and work, adoption revolution, same-sex parenting, late-onset motherhood and shifting gender roles are some of the topics that will be addressed during “21st Century Motherhood: Change” Oct. 20-22 at UH.

More than 20 sociologists, scientists, historians, literary and cultural critics, medical practitioners, mothers, poets and artists from across the nation will present during six panels. Topics are “old biology, new technologies”; “class/race/globalization”; “economics/policy”; “work/family balance”; “emergent/innovative forms” and “media motherhood.”

Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times contributor Natalie Angier will deliver a free keynote address at 7:30 p.m. on Thurs., Oct. 20, in Cullen Performance Hall. Her topic is “Reinventing the Oldest Profession: Frozen Eggs, Warmer Workplaces, Spoiled Children and Other Thoughts on the Fabulous Future of Motherhood.” A free poetry reading led by Claudia Rankine, who teaches in the Creative Writing Program at UH, will take place at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 in the Kiva Room in Farish Hall.

“Big changes – such as fertility technology and work/life balance – are underway,” said Elizabeth Gregory, conference organizer and director of the Women’s Studies Program at UH. “These changes open new opportunities for women to parent in the manner that best suits them and their children. Other changes – including workfare requirements for mothers on welfare and restrictions to access to birth control – create new obstacles. We’ll explore these changes during the conference.”

Registration for the three-day conference is $75. A reduced rate is available for Friends of Women’s Studies Members or the underemployed. The event is free for UH faculty, students and staff.

For more information or the conference schedule, go to http://www.friendsofwomen.org/motherhood/index.html or call 713-743-3214.

ABOUT THE EVENT:

WHAT: “21st Century Motherhood: Change”
WHO: Women’s Studies Program at UH
WHEN: Oct. 20-22
Selected Schedule of Events:
7:30 p.m., Oct. 20 – Natalie Angier keynote address, Cullen Performance Hall
7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 – Claudia Rankine’s poetry reading, Kiva Room, Farish Hall

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.