Hannah Zeavin, an Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley and cofounder of The Psychosocial Foundation, teams up with Helen Charman, a Cambridge Fellow and accomplished writer. They delve into the intersection of motherhood, media, and technology throughout the 20th century. Their conversation reveals how media shapes societal expectations of mothers and explores the anxieties tied to modern parenting. They also critique historical narratives and the influence of iconic TV shows, highlighting the evolving dynamics of maternal roles and the impact of technological advancements.
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insights INSIGHT
The Myth of the Nuclear Mother
The idealized nuclear family with a mother doing all reproductive labor alone is a fantasy with harmful persistence.
Technology and media play complex roles in supporting mothering labor and passing on societal pathologies from mothers to media.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Buffy as Secret Rebellion
Helen Charman secretly watched Buffy despite her mother's disapproval rooted in Christian morality.
The show became a site of forbidden exploration and a formative experience about loss and trauma for her.
insights INSIGHT
Media as Surrogate Caregiver
Families negotiate competing pressures to keep children safe via media while fearing its corruptive influence.
Media acts as a mediated caretaker when mothers are absent or multitasking under societal judgment.
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In this book, Winnicott discusses how the attentive nurturing of creativity from the earliest years allows individuals to enjoy a rich and rewarding cultural life. He delves into the concept of transitional objects, the importance of the mother-child relationship, and how play transitions into cultural experiences. The book emphasizes the significance of play in personal development, creativity, and the formation of the self, highlighting that being creative is essential for meaningful living and that it is a form of being alive and feeling that life is worth living[1][3][4].
Baby and child care
Benjamin Spock
This book, first published in 1946, revolutionized child-rearing methods by advocating for flexibility and affection. Spock's advice is arranged by topics corresponding to the child's age, from infancy to teenage years. The book covers a wide range of topics including preparing for the baby, toilet training, school, illnesses, and special problems. Later editions, updated by Dr. Robert Needlman, include modern medical opinions on immunizations, obesity, cultural diversity, and common developmental and behavioral challenges.
More work for mother
Ruth Schwartz Cowan
1984
None
George Orwell
Published in 1949, '1984' is a cautionary tale by George Orwell that explores the dangers of totalitarianism. The novel is set in a dystopian future where the world is divided into three super-states, with the protagonist Winston Smith living in Oceania, ruled by the mysterious and omnipotent leader Big Brother. Winston works at the Ministry of Truth, where he rewrites historical records to conform to the Party's ever-changing narrative. He begins an illicit love affair with Julia and starts to rebel against the Party, but they are eventually caught and subjected to brutal torture and indoctrination. The novel highlights themes of government surveillance, manipulation of language and history, and the suppression of individual freedom and independent thought.
The Future of AI in Business
Jane Smith
Mother State
Mother State
Helen Charman
Mother Media
Mother Media
Hot and Cool Parenting in the 20th Century
Hannah Zeavin
Hannah Zeavin and Helen Charman return to the podcast to discuss the history of technology, media and mothering throughout the 20th century. We discuss the role media and technology play in the labor process of mothering, how media often becomes a site of panic and pathology, and what this all tells us about the relationship between the state and the so-called private household.
Hannah Zeavin is Assistant Professor of the History of Science in the Department of History and the Berkeley Center for New Media at UC Berkeley. In 2021, she cofounded The Psychosocial Foundation and is Founding Editor of Parapraxis magazine. She is the author of The Distance Cure and more recently Mother Media: Hot and Cool Parenting in the Twentieth Century (both published by The MIT Press.)
Helen Charman is a Fellow and College Teaching Officer in English at Clare College, University of Cambridge. Her writing has been published in publications such as the Guardian, The White Review, and Another Gaze. As a poet, Charman was shortlisted for the White Review Poet's Prize in 2017 and for the 2019 Ivan Juritz Prize for Creative Experiment, and has published four poetry pamphlets, most recently In the Pleasure Dairy. Her first book Mother State: A Political History of Motherhood published last August.
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