Is paid work outside the home incompatible with motherhood? The idea that mothers can’t also be workers grew from 18th century British and colonial ideas about gender and power. In this talk, Professor Ledoux will discuss her new book, “Laboring Mothers: Reproducing Women and Work in the Eighteenth Century” (UVA Press) and explore how today’s assumptions about class, race, and working motherhood stem from these long-standing inequalities.

Ellen Malenas Ledoux is Associate Professor of English and Communication at Rutgers University–Camden and the author of Social Reform in Gothic Writing: Fantastic Forms of Change, 1764–1834.

This is a virtual talk which will be held on Zoom. All SCHS members will receive a link in advance of the program. Non-members may purchase tickets.

Winter Speaker Series:

07 JAN Marie Danielle Annette Williams “Loyalists in the Adirondacks”
14 JAN Laurie Lawlor “Many Voices: Erie, the Canal that Changed America”
21 JAN Chuck Henry “First Draft of History: NY State Historic Newspapers”
28 JAN Ellen Ledoux “Laboring Mothers: Reproducing Women and Work in the 18th Century”

04 FEB Sarah Wassberg Johnson “Apples in America: A History”
06 FEB James Taub, Associate Curator, Museum of the American Revolution “Threads of Liberty”
11 FEB Mary Liz Stewart “Underground Railroad”
18 FEB Dr. Elisabeth Paling Funk “The Dutch World of Washington Irving”
21 FEB Chris Conto “The Daring Life of Arent Van Curler”
25 FEB Nancy Newman “Songs and Sounds of the Anti-Rent Movement in Upstate New York”

04 MAR Kevin Bronner “Albany During The American Revolution: Victory In Upstate New York”
11 MAR Prof. LaGarrett King “The African Americans’ Revolution”
14 MAR. Jaap Jacobs “Trade, Theft, and Excessive Expenses: A Year in New Netherland”
18 MAR Craig Siulinski “The Early 20th Century Experience of Polish Immigrants in Schenectady”
21 MAR Multiple Speakers: “Ten Things You Didn’t Know About the American Revolution”
25 MAR Wally Wheeler, “Early Vernacular Architecture in Schenectady County”