AfterFamily

In popular culture, the Family – in its nuclear or extended form – is considered a pillar of society and a central element of human existence, something often viewed as natural and necessary.

But what is a family? Who should – or should not – constitute one? In addition to these central questions, many others are raised every day, both in homes and in parliaments, in academia and in religious spaces: Are people having too many or not enough children? Should the State help people reproduce? Who should take care of children and how?

These questions come together in complex constellations with concepts such as gender, class, race, biology, as well as patriarchy, capitalism, culture and tradition, freedom and oppression. Given that the Family constitutes both the foundation for many people’s private lives and a key area of debate in public politics, discussions range across several disciplines, not limited to philosophy and ethics, law, economics, science and technology.

On the 23rd of May, please join us at our event AfterFamily, as we will have the pleasure to have author and theorist Sophie Lewis addressing maybe the most taboo of all these questions: Should we abolish the Family?

Following Sophie Lewis’ keynote, Asst. Prof. Maria Marti Castaner will give a talk on whether normative motherhood is harmful and Prof. Christina Lupton will present her research on the way first person writing speaks to the question of childcare.