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Love, grief and resistance. Young women and emotions in Belgian reform schools, 1900-1960

Wednesday 29th May, 2024

5-7pm, Arts One 1.36, Queen Mary University of London (Mile End campus)

 

You are warmly invited to the following research seminar, organized by the Centre for the History of Emotions

Laura Nys (QMUL), Love, grief and resistance. Young women and emotions in Belgian reform schools, 1900-1960

You can attend

• in person, at Queen Mary University of London, Arts One 1.36
• or online (request a link from e.carrera@qmul.ac.uk)

Abstract

This paper is a microhistory of young women and emotions in the Belgian reform school of Bruges in the early 20th century. As a state institution for juvenile offenders, the reform school imposed a harsh regime on the young women in view of their re-education. Using the women’s clandestine correspondence, of which intercepted fragments are preserved in the case files, this paper discusses romantic friendship, sexuality and the role of suffering in the women’s discourses. Personal correspondence with their families provides insights into the affective cultures of working class families, while a comparison between these types of correspondence allows to differentiate between discourses of love, friendship and family and the changes throughout time. The paper also considers the role of censorship, disciplinary power and subversive practices, exploring the possibilities for an ‘emotional agency’ in the disciplinary institution.

Dr. Laura Nys is a visiting scholar at the Centre for the History of the Emotions, QMUL. Her research is funded by the Independent Social Research Foundation. See her Profile page

Contact: l.nys@qmul.ac.uk