Parenting as/in Crisis: Transcultural constructions of parenting and parenthood

Abstract

This half-day workshop seeks to explore parenting and parenthood under the conditions of crisis/hardship. We want to bring into focus a variety of cases, contributing with a fresh view on parenting and parenthood that can help us to understand pathologies of parenthood resulting from warfare, migration, pandemic, colonialism/intergenerational trauma, and/or mass violence.

While parenting is often assumed to be something we all know how to value – and even to do – and universal parenting programs that aim to prepare and support families in their transition and distress are being rolled out across the Globe (e.g., MANU in Greenland), parenting is in fact subject to extreme cultural and historical variation. As a pressure point for policy makers, service providers, and individuals, parenting raises questions of social and cultural belonging, equality, and futurity. When parenting takes place under the inauspicious conditions of war, cultural displacement, poverty, or illness these questions are amplified further by the suspension or relativization of normality. In this workshop we want to explore culturally specific manifestations of parenthood. We invite researchers using historical, sociological, anthropological, clinical, and literary approaches to this topic to share and compare perspectives through informal 15-minute presentations on their current work. Our hope is that the transcultural and transhistorical nature of parenting will become clear as we bring our different projects into conversation. The workshop will allow time to discuss future collaborations, events, and publication possibilities.

Registration 

Please, not that this is a closed workshop, and registration is required. If you want to attend, please, contact Daria Schwalbe at daria@hum.ku.dk