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School of Society and Environment - Department of History
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Eli Jeanin

Eli Jeanin

Email: l.h.c.jeannin@qmul.ac.uk

PhD project 

'Mère de France' or 'Citoyenne'? Female Citizenship Culture in The French IVth Republic, 1945-1958. A Study of Two Cities: Algiers and Marseille

My project studies maternity injunctions that permeated women’s experiences of French citizenship since the French Revolution and explore how these cultural and social obligations evolved when women gained the right to vote and became full citizens. By using new approaches in material, cultural, and social histories, I examine the differences between expectations of women’s political behaviour in the post-war years, and ordinary practices of political, civic, and social women’s organisations. This thesis questions the extent to which motherhood was a central point of view or vessel for women to campaign in civic and political spheres, while simultaneously thinking about the impact of motherhood injunctions within the context of France’s early decolonial history. By studying Marseille and Algiers, this research will consider new angles from which historians should study motherhood culture in its plurality, taking into consideration how class, colonial status, citizenship status impacts experiences of motherhood.

Supervisors

Dr. Daniel Lee, Department of History, QMUL

Dr. Jane Freeland, Department of History, QMUL

Funding

Queen Mary University of London HSS Studentship

Research Interests

I'm interested in the history of modern France and its Empire, histories of gender, motherhood and feminisms. I am also interested in questions of citizenship, nationalism, and identity creation.

Academic Background 

I did my undergraduate degree at QMUL in Modern and Contemporary History, followed by a Master's in History at UCL, where I specialised in cultural history.

Publications 

Rewarding Motherhood. A Short History of the French Medal of Childhood and Family. Women's History Network Blog (2026)

Conference Presentations


'Tu Enfanteras Dans La Joie. Depictions and Discussions of Pregnancy in French Communist Women’s Magazines, 1945-1955', The Body in History Conference (Oxford). Organised by The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities. July 2026

Substack

I have a substack (@elijeannin), where I explore different mediums to discuss my research.

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