Credit: Vilnius University / Ugnius Bagdonavičius
My name is Orlagh Woods, and I am delighted to formally introduce my EU-funded postdoctoral project, Repro-fiction, which I began at the Faculty of Philology in September 2025.
I’m from Ireland, and my interest in reproductive narratives began during the 2018 campaign to legalise abortion. At that time, I noticed how many people turned to literature—novels, essays, poetry—to express what they could not say publicly or convey through policy language. In a moment of heightened polarisation around reproductive issues, literature offers a vital space for women to articulate complex experiences in their own terms.
Across borders, writers are reclaiming the reproductive body as a site of power, vulnerability, and protest. Repro-fiction emerges in response to significant cultural and political shifts surrounding reproductive rights and healthcare, and its narratives resonate globally. By blending personal experience with broader social realities, these works challenge traditional representations of reproduction and open up new ways of thinking about gender, embodiment, and agency. In doing so, repro-fiction participates in global conversations about reproductive justice and the politics of care.
My project brings together literary analysis with perspectives from medical humanities, cultural studies, and feminist theory to understand how reproductive bodies are represented and why these representations matter. The interdisciplinary nature of this research also shapes the public-facing events I’m currently planning.
In June 2026, I will organise a workshop on narrative medicine, exploring how storytelling practices intersect with healthcare. The following year, in May 2027, I will organise a Global Symposium on Repro-fiction, bringing together scholars, writers, activists, and artists to discuss the important role of narrative in reproductive justice movements worldwide.
I look forward to developing this project within the Faculty of Philology under the supervision of Prof. Eglė Kačkutė, and to building international collaborations that reflect the interdisciplinary and intercultural scope of Repro-fiction.
To stay connected with the project as it develops, we invite you to follow us on on Instagram, where we will be sharing research updates, reading recommendations, and information about workshops and the 2027 symposium.
Thank you!
Orlagh Woods