CGS Professor Edits New Book on Motherhood
Lynn O’Brien Hallstein has edited a new book, Mothering Rhetorics, recently published by Routledge. Hallstein is an associate professor of rhetoric at the College of General Studies, as well as a women’s studies professor looking at the cultural constructions of motherhood.
Originally published as a special issue of Women’s Studies in Communication, Mothering Rhetorics is a collection of essays that further examines the concept of motherhood through the rhetorics of reproduction, and reproducing rhetorics. Hallstein and other featured writers also cover a wide range of topics throughout, including the racialized rhetorical contexts of maternity; how fixing food is thought to fix families, while also regulating maternal activities and identity; and other subjects.
With motherhood and mothering becoming important intellectual topics across multiple disciplines, Hallstein wanted to create a book with an array of writers looking at motherhood from both the historical and contemporary sides– to bridge the gap for scholars and teachers as well. Along with her new edited book, Hallstein has written four other books including Bikini Ready Moms, as well as numerous chapters in other books and feminist and communication publications.