13 June 2011

Seeking Participants for a Research Project: "Autonomous Motherhood: A Socio-Legal Investigation"

Research Team
Four researchers at universities in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, are involved in this project which is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC).  The team leader is Professor Susan B. Boyd, Faculty of Law, University of BC.

Research Objective
The overall objective of the project is to investigate the experience of mothers who gave birth to or adopted a child while single and who then reared their children on their own for at least one year between 1945 and 2010 in Canada.  We call this practice of mothering outside of marriage or a cohabiting relationship "autonomous motherhood".

The Historical Interview Component
This component of the project will consist of 1 to 2 hour interviews with
 mothers who gave birth to or adopted and parented a child outside a marriage or common law relationship for at least a year between 1945 and 2010. There is very little research in Canada that highlights this experience. If you have a story of lone motherhood to tell, we would very much appreciate hearing from you.


Contacts
Professors Dorothy E. Chunn, Simon Fraser University (tel: 604-741-7889 (cell) or 778-782-4761; email: chunn@sfu.ca), and Wanda Wiegers, University of Saskatchewan (tel: 306-321-7822 (cell) or 306-966-5877; email: w.wiegers@usask.ca) are coordinating the historical interview component of the project. You may contact them at the telephone numbers or email addresses above to discuss possible participation in the historical interview study.