Orlagh Woods

Vilnius university

About the workshop presenter

Orlagh Woods is a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Philology of Vilnius University. She received her PhD from Maynooth University in 2024. Her doctoral research explored the representation of mothers in contemporary adaptations of Shakespeare. She is currently leading the EU funded project Repro-fiction, which analyses representations of reproductive bodies in contemproary literature. Her research has been published in journals including Lingue e Linguaggi and Literatūra as well as in edited volumes from Routledge and Palgrave Macmillan.

Workshop Reproductive Bodies, Radical Texts

This workshop introduces my postdoctoral research project, ‘Repro-fiction’, which analyses literary texts that centre the reproductive body and explore experiences of reproduction, care, and reproductive decision-making. Across national and cultural contexts, writers are increasingly reclaiming the reproductive body as a site of power, vulnerability, and protest. Repro-fiction emerges in response to significant political and cultural shifts surrounding reproductive rights and healthcare, and its narratives resonate globally. By weaving together personal experience and broader social realities, these texts challenge dominant representations of reproduction and open up new ways of thinking about gender, embodiment, agency and care. Drawing on literary analysis alongside feminist theory, medical humanities, and cultural studies, my project asks how reproductive bodies are represented in contemporary literature and why these representations matter. Reflecting this interdisciplinary approach, the workshop is designed to be both explanatory and interactive. Participants will be introduced to the concept of repro-fiction and invited to collectively analyse short excerpts from selected texts, considering how narrative form, language, and perspective shape our understanding of reproductive experience. The workshop aims to create a shared space for discussion and critical engagement, encouraging participants to reflect on the cultural work literature performs in moments of reproductive crisis and change.