Whilst “Parenting Culture” and “Childhood” are now well established fields of social science scholarship, so far, the common threads between these two bodies of work have not been significantly explored. Taking “adult-child relations” as the locus of this comparison, this project in the Department of Social Science at UCL, run by Charlotte Faircloth (Thomas Coram Research Unit) and Rachel Rosen (Social Science Research Unit) aims to bring together novel contributions from scholars working in either field who are interested in creating such connections in global contexts. In particular, we are interested in exploring the ways contemporary cultures of parenthood intersect with ideas about childhood, and vice versa, especially as they relate to notions of risk and responsibility. We are also keen to examine recent shifts in political and economic circumstances of family life as they relate to gender, generation, privatisation and the division of labour.
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Ideals of parenting and its intersections with childhood in historical or international perspectives
- Adult-child relationships in a “risk culture”
- Adult authority and/or children’s rights in intergenerational perspective
- Non-traditional family forms, including sibling relationships and transnational families
- Expertise, consumption and the advice culture around parenting/childhood
- Interventions in and with “the child” e.g. “socialisation in reverse”
- Intersectionality and the division of reproductive labour
- The political economy of parent-child relations
We are keen to hear from scholars working in any field, and at any stage of their career, with their proposal for a paper to be presented at a workshop in London, UK, on 23 May 2018, with a view to producing an edited volume or special issue with selected papers. Please contact Charlotte on c.faircloth@ucl.ac.uk by Friday, 12 January with a short biography and abstract of 250 words of your proposed paper. Scholars who are not able to attend but who would like to be included in future events or potential publication plans are also encouraged to contact us. We will notify selected presenters by the end of January 2018.