Reinventing the Family in Uncertain Times

Education, Policy and Social Justice

Marie-Pierre Moreau, Catherine Lee, Cynthia Okpokiri, Marie-Pierre Moreau, Catherine Lee, Cynthia Okpokiri

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781350287105
• eBook ISBN: 9781350287129
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Education Theory & Practice
• Index: Social Sciences

This edited volume looks at the reproduction and transformation of family norms in contemporary times. Set against a context of far-right politics calling for a return to more conservative identity politics and family norms, and building on late 20th century social movements which challenged essentialist and functionalist understandings of identities and families, it considers a variety of non-traditional family structures. Written by scholars based in Argentina, Ghana, Italy, Portugal, the UK, and the USA, the chapters question what 'counts' as a family in contemporary times and considers how the discourses of power which operate in institutional and geographical contexts impact how families are recognized and valued. The book includes analysis of non-traditional and non-heteronormative families such as single-parent families, childless families, families with animal companions, LGBTQ families, families across the Global South, mixed heritage families and families of friends. Drawing on post-structuralist, critical, and feminist theories the contributors discuss how power relationships linked to gender, class, ethnicity, sexuality, dis/ability and other in/equalities intersect and operate in defining what counts as a family.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title Page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• List of Contributors
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Shifting Family Meanings: A Sociological Overview
• 3 Children’s Valuations of Kinship Care Family Life – Cost-effective Substitute Care or Multiple Ambivalent Affiliations in Flux
• 4 Language of Instruction Choice and Family Disruptions in Ghana
• 5 Black British Families: Liminality and the Liabilities of Language
• 6 Older Lesbians and Families of Friends
• 7 Queering Familialism? Lesbian and Gay Claims of Parenthood and the Transformation of Intimate Citizenship in Italy
• 8 Kithship: Protective Aspects of a Family of Choice for Older Transgender Persons
• 9 Family Practices and Strategies of Middle-class Teachers in Argentina in the Context of Covid-19: Transformations and Discomforts in the Face of Care Processes and Labour Relations
• 10 ‘In True Naval Fashion’: Young People’s Perspectives on Family Communication
• 11 From Active to Activist Parenting: Educational Struggle and the Injuries of Institutionalized Misrecognition
• 12 Conclusion
• Index
• Copyright Page