The Single Mother and the Law: Romance novels making room for female voices in patriarchal spaces

Publishes as Michelle Douglas, also a PhD Candidate (University of Newcastle, Australia) Session 6.3 Power and Patriarchy Abstract:  Single mothers are routinely subjected to scorn and censure from the media and political discourse, often dismiss as conniving welfare queens and a drain on society.  Research proves these images are fundamentally false.  However the biases these […]

Dangerous loves endangered: nationalism, violence and territoralization in US paramilitary romance fiction

Professor Nattie Golubov (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) Session 6.2 Power and Patriarchy I’m going to put the whole abstract this time, as it helps explain a lot of my shorthand bullet points later in the post. Most of the abstract is behind the cut. Abstract: This paper will discuss the geopolitical imaginary and the […]

The Soft Power of Popular Romance

Heather Schell (George Washington University, USA) Session 6.1 Power and Patriarchy Abstract: Political scientist Joseph Nye introduced the term “soft power” as a way of describing how nations might win hearts and allies without the us of military force or economics.  Power, he says, is “a way to alter the behaviour of others to get […]