Conference: “Contested Kinship: Towards a Redefinition of Human Relations”, March 14 – 16, 2019

Throughout Western history and legal traditions, kinship has been firmly rooted within the bounds of blood relations. This naturalization of kinship continues in modern age. Legal regimes equally tend to the privileging of genetic relations, even today. From a Cultural Studies perspective, this is highly problematic: it points towards an essentialist understanding of kinship, predetermined by birth; it naturalizes subjecthood based on genetic bonds and genealogy; it attributes symbolic value to a concept of genetic sameness rather than diversity; and it supports the family as a key site of power and discipline. This conference seeks to further research in the field of critical kinship studies by bringing together different disciplinary perspectives into a cultural hermeneutic approach. The conference is organized by the Goettingen Centre for Gender Studies together with Prof. Dr. Barbara Schaff (British Literature and Culture), Prof. Dr. Inge Kroppenberg, and Dr. Nikolaus Linder (both Roman Law).

Further information: contestedkinship.wordpress.com