Maternal Encounters

Lisa Baraitser is Lecturer in Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, a feminist theorist, writer and theatre director, and a psychotherapist with a particular interest in working with mothers. Her research is currently concerned with articulations of the maternal in the fields of psychoanalysis, social theory, feminism and philosophy.

• Maternal Encounters. Maternal Alterity: Mum’s the Word. Maternal Transformations: Oi Mother, Keep Ye' Hair On! Maternal Interruptions: I, Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi, I Like You Very Much, Si, Si, Si, Si, Si, I Think You're Grand. Maternal Love: On Mother Love and Unexpected Weeping. Maternal Stuff: Maternity and the Encumbered Body. Intentions, Inconsistencies, Inconclusions.

"A welcome addition to the Women and Psychology Series of books. ... It can be used to both teach and prompt discussions about motherhood across multiple disciplines." - Sue Child, University of Exeter, UK, in Sociology"This is an extremely unusual, subtle and important book. Lisa Baraitser produces a demanding and timely theoretical argument that presents maternity as a site for the construction of subjectivity and for the development of a new understanding of the ethics of relationality. She draws together an array of contemporary feminist, philosophical and psychoanalytic theory, whilst maintaining an authorial voice that is intensely personal, lively, accessible, humorous and humane. Maternal Encounters is a remarkable achievement." - Stephen Frosh, Birkbeck College, University of London "This is a beautifully written text, demonstrating considerable skill. Lisa Baraitser has produced a book that speaks of a scholar who is a highly original thinker, with a capacity to simultaneously craft an engaging story alongside the deft handling of complex theory." - Dr Gail Lewis, Reader in Identities and Psycho-Social Studies, Open University