Dates & times
All times are local to the venue · America/Chicago
- 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
At KU, Grimm Tales Meet Reproductive Politics
A fairy tale’s cultural life does not end with its plot. Andrea Meyertholen’s KU lecture examines how the Brothers Grimm’s stories—and their later presence in popular culture—relate to ideas about female sexuality, virginity and motherhood, and to current debates about reproductive rights and political personhood.
Stories that keep circulating
Meyertholen frames her research around a tension: older, patriarchal ideas about women’s bodies can persist despite more than a century of women’s-rights movements, and some appear to be gaining renewed cultural standing. The project considers how Grimm tales, along with their continued presence in everyday popular culture, can help carry ideas about sexuality, virginity and motherhood.
That focus connects literary interpretation to questions of contemporary consequence. Meyertholen’s project asks how assumptions about women’s value, identity and autonomy are sustained—and how those assumptions might be challenged—while bringing the stories into conversation with reproductive rights and political personhood.
Further reading: Maidenhood, Motherhood & the Reproductive Body in the Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm - The University of KansasUniversity of Kansas logo ↗
Beyond a single kind of retelling
The research ranges across literary, artistic, cinematic and theoretical engagements with the reproductive body. That breadth makes the announced subject not just the fairy tales themselves, but also the ways ideas about bodies and gender can be taken up in different forms of cultural interpretation.
Further reading: Maidenhood, Motherhood & the Reproductive Body in the Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm - The University of KansasUniversity of Kansas logo ↗
A cross-disciplinary scholarly lens
Meyertholen is a Mid-Career Fellow and associate professor in KU’s Department of Slavic, German, and Eurasian Studies. Her scholarship includes German and European visual culture and literature, the relationship between literature and art, and representations of body, gender and fashion. Her 2021 book, The Myth of Abstraction: The Hidden Origins of Abstract Art in German Literature, also connects literary and visual subjects.
The Hall Center for the Humanities describes its work as supporting humanities research and conversation across disciplines and communities. That institutional setting suits a lecture whose announced scope moves between literature, art, film and theory.
Further reading: Maidenhood, Motherhood & the Reproductive Body in the Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm - The University of KansasUniversity of Kansas logo ↗ · Faculty | Department of Slavic, German, and Eurasian StudiesUniversity of Kansas logo ↗ · Faculty Publications and Projects | Department of Slavic, German, and Eurasian StudiesUniversity of Kansas logo ↗ · hallcenter | The Hall Center for the HumanitiesUniversity of Kansas logo ↗
The announced presentation
Andrea Meyertholen presents research from her current book project, connecting Grimm fairy tales and their popular-culture legacy with reproductive rights, political personhood and the representation of the reproductive body.
2026-11-16 · Hall Center Conference Hall
- Andrea Meyertholen, Mid-Career Fellow and Associate Professor in the Department of Slavic, German, and Eurasian Studies, presents research connecting Grimm fairy tales with reproductive rights and political personhood.
Plan your visit
Monday, Nov. 16
The talk is scheduled for 12–1:30 p.m. CST in the Hall Center for the Humanities Conference Hall, 900 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045.
Free; confirm registration if needed
KU lists the event as free. The listing does not say whether advance registration is required or provide booking instructions. If registration would affect your plans, check with the Hall Center before traveling.
Maidenhood, Motherhood & the Reproductive Body in the Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm - The University of KansasUniversity of Kansas logo ↗ · hallcenter | The Hall Center for the HumanitiesUniversity of Kansas logo ↗
Community and KU audiences
KU’s target-audience list includes community members, alumni, faculty, prospective students, graduate and undergraduate students, and staff. No age policy is stated.
Getting to the Hall Center
Destination
The event is at the Hall Center for the Humanities, 900 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045. Its Conference Hall is on the building’s main floor. The event listing identifies the room but does not specify a particular building entrance.
The map links can calculate directions to the confirmed address from your starting point. The Hall Center also identifies KU Park & Ride service to the site; it does not list route numbers in the captured information.
Maidenhood, Motherhood & the Reproductive Body in the Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm - The University of KansasUniversity of Kansas logo ↗ · Facilities & Parking | The Hall Center for the HumanitiesUniversity of Kansas logo ↗
KU Park & Ride
The Hall Center says KU’s Park & Ride shuttle serves the site. Get off at the stop in front of the Computer Center on Sunnyside Avenue; the Hall Center is across the street.
Facilities & Parking | The Hall Center for the HumanitiesUniversity of Kansas logo ↗
Parking
The lot beside the Hall Center is a Blue Zone lot, normally restricted to staff on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Visitors can purchase a temporary permit for that lot or other KU lots; check KU Parking for current permit details.
KU’s parking information warns that a permit must match a lot’s zone. Hall Center visitor spaces may result in a ticket or tow if used without the correct permit. No parking rate is specified here.
Facilities & Parking | The Hall Center for the HumanitiesUniversity of Kansas logo ↗
Access information
The Hall Center’s facilities page lists hearing-assistance devices in the Conference Hall. This is general room information, not confirmation of event-specific equipment or arrangements. Contact the Hall Center with access questions before the talk.
Facilities & Parking | The Hall Center for the HumanitiesUniversity of Kansas logo ↗
Before you make a plan
Do I need to reserve a seat?
The event is listed as free, but the calendar gives no registration instructions. Contact the Hall Center if advance booking would affect your plans.
Maidenhood, Motherhood & the Reproductive Body in the Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm - The University of KansasUniversity of Kansas logo ↗ · hallcenter | The Hall Center for the HumanitiesUniversity of Kansas logo ↗
Location & Google Maps
Hall Center for the Humanities, Conference Hall
900 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045
Map search by venue and address. Check the organiser’s entrance details before travelling.