Projektdetails
Abstract
When new life comes into the world, the whole of a cultural order is put to the test and up for debate and revision. Birth is a moment of highest social significance and a scenario laden with symbolism. Parting from this conviction, in our first period of research we could make major contributions to a cultural history of childbirth.
In the second phase, the temporal frame of observation and of scenarios considered will be widened and we will endeavour to get an even better grasp about how birth is suffused with the prevailing vision of the world; testimonies unknown so far and voices hitherto unheard will be carefully examined.
In accordance with these general goals, we intend to give priority to female testimonies, included in personal letters, exchanged between mothers, daughters and other female relatives. These testimonies will provide data not only about delivery but about the rhythms of conception, pregnancy and birth, as well as about frustrations and disruptions, about the place of birth in a life-cycle and about the ways it conditioned the relations of age-groups and the believed ties between the living and the dead. Female correspondence will provide an idea about how childbearing women perceived and interpreted the process, how they judged the performance of birth assistants, how they dealt with miscarriages or the death of a newborn. For the first time, hundreds of birth miracles contained in hagiography will be scrutinized for the voices enclosed in the texts, the scenarios evoked and the judgements transmitted. From this, a clearer understanding of how the body functions in a situation of highest strain under the spell of a specific set of
beliefs might emerge.
Under the heading birth at the margins, social groups will be taken into consideration that have been given too little attention so far: enslaved mothers, fathers, grandparents, as well as parents desiring or compelled to abandon their children in foundling homes. Registers from these casas-cuna and documents on slave birth will be searched for birthing scenarios. Thereby, clues on the conditions of birth will be gathered from the condition and attire of the abandoned baby and the objects it is provided with, such as stones, crosses or holy images. While studying birth in a situation of bondage and when analysing elementary care where maternal care cannot be given, we might get closer to the very core and foundations of human ties and values - shared, contested or denied – in Early Modern Spain.
A team built around Aichinger, Fischer and Grohsebner at the Univ. of Vienna will mainly collaborate with international researchers Corona, Fargas and Usunáriz.
In the second phase, the temporal frame of observation and of scenarios considered will be widened and we will endeavour to get an even better grasp about how birth is suffused with the prevailing vision of the world; testimonies unknown so far and voices hitherto unheard will be carefully examined.
In accordance with these general goals, we intend to give priority to female testimonies, included in personal letters, exchanged between mothers, daughters and other female relatives. These testimonies will provide data not only about delivery but about the rhythms of conception, pregnancy and birth, as well as about frustrations and disruptions, about the place of birth in a life-cycle and about the ways it conditioned the relations of age-groups and the believed ties between the living and the dead. Female correspondence will provide an idea about how childbearing women perceived and interpreted the process, how they judged the performance of birth assistants, how they dealt with miscarriages or the death of a newborn. For the first time, hundreds of birth miracles contained in hagiography will be scrutinized for the voices enclosed in the texts, the scenarios evoked and the judgements transmitted. From this, a clearer understanding of how the body functions in a situation of highest strain under the spell of a specific set of
beliefs might emerge.
Under the heading birth at the margins, social groups will be taken into consideration that have been given too little attention so far: enslaved mothers, fathers, grandparents, as well as parents desiring or compelled to abandon their children in foundling homes. Registers from these casas-cuna and documents on slave birth will be searched for birthing scenarios. Thereby, clues on the conditions of birth will be gathered from the condition and attire of the abandoned baby and the objects it is provided with, such as stones, crosses or holy images. While studying birth in a situation of bondage and when analysing elementary care where maternal care cannot be given, we might get closer to the very core and foundations of human ties and values - shared, contested or denied – in Early Modern Spain.
A team built around Aichinger, Fischer and Grohsebner at the Univ. of Vienna will mainly collaborate with international researchers Corona, Fargas and Usunáriz.
| Kurztitel | Kulturen der Geburt II |
|---|---|
| Status | Laufend |
| Tatsächlicher Beginn/ -es Ende | 11/11/24 → 10/11/28 |