On deadline eve, this is a gentle reminder that the call for papers closes tomorrow at midnight GMT. Thank you for all the abstracts received so far, we’ll be in touch as soon as possible after the call closes.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the idea of “wifework”, the term Susan Maushart uses for the hidden work expected of women in romantic relationships. Though her book is specifically about marriage, it connects to broader ideas about “affective labour” and “invisible work” which women carry out without acknowledgement. As the new university year approaches, I wanted to sketch a few ways in which this extra burden of work can be seen within university life, and ask for people’s own experiences.

Looking back at my own undergraduate days, it often seemed to fall to women to do the social maintenance within friendship groups. Remembering people’s birthdays, organising parties, ensuring that people weren’t left out, looking up whether there were tickets available for the play we’d said we wanted to see – these are the sort of things I’m thinking about. Of course it wasn’t always done by the women…