Global Humanities Lab (310-4-20)

Topic

Pregnancy and Childbirth, c. 1750 to Present

Instructors

Sarah Rodriguez
312/503-2887
1800 Sherman Ave Suite 1-200, Evanston

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-325: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

People's ideas about pregnancy - how to prevent or enable, when it starts and how it progresses, how to ensure it is healthy, how to intentionally end it early, and what it means when it ends early unintentionally - have changed, in some cases dramatically, over the past 275 years. In addition, ideas about childbirth have also changed since 1750, going from what was largely a female event, one assisted (if assisted at all) by women who had gained their knowledge through experiential learning to one where the most ‘appropriate' attendant obtained their skills formally, in alignment with biomedical ideas, and overseen by the state. How have laboring women, midwives (both formally and experientially trained), physicians, fathers, family members, and the state participated in changes regarding conceptualizations of pregnancy and childbirth? We will consider this question within both local and global frames, seeking to juxtapose microhistory "and broadly comparative narratives" to, per Northwestern history professor Amy Stanley, zoom in "on the particularities of a local situation" and pan out "to ponder the commonalities."

This course takes a comparative approach regarding the history of pregnancy and childbirth. We will begin in the 1700s, as during this century multiple states across Europe began more formal training for midwives, requiring midwives pass oral examinations to practice, and requiring midwives be registered with the government. In addition, it is this century when men began to engage more frequently in normal deliveries, first as male midwives and then by the 1800s as obstetricians. Drawing from histories focusing on individuals and institutions from across the globe, we will explore changes and continuities in both popular and medical ideas about when a pregnancy starts; how to become pregnant; how to prevent or end pregnancy; fetal development; perceived risks in pregnancy and childbirth; and what counts as ‘normal' and ‘safe' labor and delivery. Further, we will consider who has been regarded as an expert in pregnancy and childbirth and shifts in authority, who has been seen as the appropriate attendant during labor, when and why actors beyond the laboring woman and the attendant have become interested in pregnancy and childbirth, and the role of the state regarding pregnancy and childbirth. In this class we will be attentive to historical changes and continuities regarding pregnancy and childbirth globally since 1750, enabling us to consider historical themes and patterns, with the intention of better understanding how ideas and concerns regarding pregnancy and childbirth do not exist in isolation from larger sociopolitical and economic concerns.

Learning Objectives

1. Develop credible and effective historical questions, narratives, analyses, and arguments (in both oral and written forms) about pregnancy and childbirth in the past that show understanding of the contexts of different historical eras and cultures and perspectives.
2. Develop skills of historical analysis by evaluating primary sources, alongside secondary texts, that present the perspectives and actions of individuals and groups to evaluate how and why the ideas and actions of individuals and groups have transformed pregnancy and childbirth knowledge, ideas, concerns, and access over time, as well as to consider human agency and the limits on that agency; synthesize the main causative forces that affected people's choices regarding pregnancy and childbirth and the ways people sought to address those forces.
3. Describe the role power has played in the history of pregnancy and childbirth, describe how power has affected/been marshalled by people differently, and describe the historical connections between people from different national, racial, and/or cultural communities regarding power and pregnancy and childbirth.
4. Connect contemporary issues and concerns regarding pregnancy and childbirth with their historical contexts and apply historical knowledge and historical thinking to contemporary issues regarding pregnancy and childbirth.
5. Analyze and evaluate change and continuity over time.

Class Attributes

Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area