Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2011 Birth matters: discourses of childbirth in contemporary American culture Jennifer Ellis West Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation West, Jennifer Ellis, "Birth matters: discourses of childbirth in contemporary American culture" (2011). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2253. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2253 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please
[email protected]. BIRTH MATTERS: DISCOURSES OF CHILDBIRTH IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN CULTURE A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of English by Jennifer Ellis West B.A., Mississippi College, 2000 M.A., Mississippi College, 2005 May 2011 Dedication For David, who has believed I could do this—and everything else—from the beginning. For Josie, whose entrance into the world inspired this project, and for Olive, whose birth I am eagerly anticipating as this goes to print. ii Acknowledgments Thank you hardly seems a sufficient response for the support, both personal and professional, I have received on the long journey to completing this dissertation. The professional guidance and compassionate mentorship of my adviser, Sue Weinstein, has, in many ways, provided the fertile ground out of which this project emerged.