Call for Papers for the Dossier “Human conception: reproductive rights, moralities, and conflicts”
Human engendering is permeated by various social processes. It is, therefore, something that transcends pregnancy and childbirth, although it also encompasses them and finds in them privileged moments for reflection. However, when we refer to human engendering, we are referring to a broad approach that encompasses health policies and moralities that come into play even before the onset of sexual life and that manifest themselves fully after pregnancy and childbirth. We therefore intend to reflect on issues of sex education, reproductive rights, access to or denial of abortion, obstetric violence, the breastfeeding process, and postpartum experiences. Events related to these phenomena are surrounded by social dimensions that encompass purely technical or scientific perspectives, characteristic of administrative procedures in hospital environments and health organizations, commonly used to justify certain actions or decisions. Thus, our attention turns to the different moralities and representations of the actions that characterize the disputes constituting these phenomena as public problems.
Given the extensive anthropological production on topics related to human reproduction and the conflicts that characterize the field of reproductive rights, as well as the processes that characterize the early years of childhood, we understand that the organization of a dossier on the theme of human engendering can bring together works that shed light on a recognized theme that is still in the process of expansion in theoretical, conceptual, and methodological terms. We thus understand that the theme of human engendering allows us to think simultaneously about moral, racial, health, gender, sexuality, motherhood, reproductive processes, care, technologies, and rights issues.
By taking human engendering as a broad process composed of different events and perspectives, we are also seeking to gather empirical data that highlight the intersectional dynamics of class, gender, and race that characterize the different ways of experiencing the phenomena of engendering new human beings. For to engender is to generate, to create. And creation takes place in specific social contexts, marked by characteristics and issues that are not static and tend to change according to historical contexts.
In this sense, it is interesting to highlight the contemporary context in which we live, marked by the rise of far-right movements and ideals, not only in the Americas, but across the globe. Such movements have found arguments in the debate on reproductive rights and gender policies to be distorted in their moral and political crusades. Thus, it is also important to think about the relevance of debates on human engendering in contexts of contemporary political and moral polarities.
It is with the aim of bringing together works that address different moments and aspects of the human engendering process that we present this thematic proposal for a dossier. Here, we hope to think comparatively about different regional and national contexts, as well as different aspects of the processes experienced in the experience of engendering new people, in order to highlight similarities and differences between the articles that make up the dossier.
Considering the evaluation criteria imposed on scientific journals, 50% of articles may be selected from doctoral students, while the remaining articles must be authored by at least one PhD holder. All submitted articles will be blind reviewed by external reviewers, in accordance with the journal's policy. In order to account for the diversity of theoretical and methodological approaches in the different empirical fields and issues to be discussed, articles from the areas of Anthropology and Social Sciences will be given preference, observing the parameters of exogeneity in relation to UFF.
Organizers: Alicia Márquez Murrieta (Instituto Mora), Stephania Gonçalves Klujsza (UFF/UFRJ) and Carlos Abraão Moura Valpassos (UFF/UENF).
Deadline: April 19, 2026.
NOTE: As we have more than one open call, it is mandatory to indicate in the “Comments to the editors” field that the submission is for the Dossier “Reproductive Rights, Moralities, and Conflicts”
Contributions can be sent until April 19, 2026, through the journal's electronic system: https://periodicos.uff.br/antropolitica/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions
