A love ' so sweet and suggestive': The politics of caring for mothers and babies in Italy from fascism to the Cold War

A lecture by Niamh Cullen (Queen's University Belfast) for the Centre for International History Seminar Series.

The Villaggio della Madre e del Fanciullo (Mother and Child Village) was a private welfare initiative set up by Elda Scarzella Mazzocchi in Milan in late 1945 to assist mothers and children displaced by war, although by the late 1950s it offered residential care to mainly single (and often migrant) mothers and their babies. Established as an alternative to the Catholic foundling home and influenced by English psychoanalysis, the Villaggio supported single mothers to care for their babies themselves. Despite its radical ideas, this talk will show how the Villaggio also drew on older, fascist ideas about mothers and babies, while its reach was ultimately restricted by the Cold War climate - with its normative ideas of mothers, children and families - of post-war Italy.

The Centre for International History draws on the burgeoning insights of scholars in the past few decades that history does not stop at the border of the nation-state.  International history explores comparative approaches and uncovers transnational flows of commerce, politics, culture, and ideas.  The Centre's research seminars and public events will display these methods while examining historical developments across the globe especially in the late modern period.

Please indicate if you have any access requirements, such as ISL/English interpreting, so that we can facilitate you in attending this event. Contact:gearyd@tcd.ie