The University as a Place for Mothers

Reflections from the Mothering, Media, and Childhood Extension Project in Brazil

Abstract

The Mothering, Media and Childhood Extension Project explores the cultural meanings and social representations of motherhood in the media. Our work abides by the Brazilian higher education extension guidelines (i.e., inseparability of teaching, research, and extension; dialogical interactions; interdisciplinarity, interprofessional collaboration; student training; and social transformation) and falls within motherhood, childhood, and media studies. We aim to broaden the public discussion on mothering, media, and childhood from an interdisciplinary perspective. We seek to raise social awareness of the challenges mothers face in universities to encourage the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) administration to develop policies to support academic mothers. Since 2021, we have produced five seasons of radio programs and podcasts for the Paulo Freire Radio Station at the UFPE, audiovisual material for social media, and published book chapters and papers in conference proceedings and academic journals. In December 2022, we met with mothers who were students, employees, and professors at UFPE. The insights raised in this meeting informed the development of an exhibition titled “The University as a Place for Mothers,” which was launched on March 8, 2023, at UFPE. The exhibition shed light on the challenges mothers face in our university. In 2023, we also organized five mother circles and discussed the need for new policy development concerning mothers’ demands in collaboration with the rector’s office and the governance committee in 2024. In 2025, we will participate in the UFPE Parenting Policy Working Group.