Writing the Motherline: Mothers, Daughters, and Education - Paperback

by Leigh M. O'Brien (Editor), Beth Blue Swadener (Editor), Beth Blue Swadener (Contribution by)

In this co-edited volume, women educators figuratively gather in 'the red tent' (Diamant, 1997) to share stories of the inseparability of what they do as mothers of daughters (and grandmothers of granddaughters) from their work as educators and social activists. By acting and speaking jointly and publicly about their varying 'projects' of mothering and educating, this work celebrates mothers' and daughters' strengths and the bonds between them. This work considers the mother-daughter bond through maternal storytelling or narrative and the Motherline. The narratives foreground the theory that a strong mother-daughter connection leads to empowerment, and attempt to link that connection with education as grand/mother-educators and their grand/daughters weave their personal and professional lives into an ever-evolving tapestry. Drawing from a range of feminist theories in action, contributors to this volume offer stories of the Motherlines that illuminate the complexities of these powerful relationships. Using counter-narratives to patriarchal framings of family, this collection affirms the power of women educators telling and reading their stories as a means of self-discovery, empowerment, and, ultimately, cultural transformation.

Author Biography

Leigh M. O'Brien is Associate Professor of Education at Montclair State University. She earned her B.S., M.Ed., and D. Ed. from the Pennsylvania State University. She is an accomplished author with numerous published scholarly articles. Beth Blue Swadener is Professor of Early Childhood Education at Arizona State University. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the co-author of Power and Voice in Research with Children and Decolonizing Research in Cross-Cultural Context; and is the author of numerous scholarly journal articles on education.