Study Groups

Families & Relationships Studies Group

Introduction

The name of this group reflects the scope and concerns of contemporary research on families and relationships and the agendas of research centres around the UK. Over the last year, co-convenors (Prof. Yvette Taylor and Prof. Val Gillies) have sought to expand the Study Group through a series of innovative day conferences, workshops and the BSA annual conference. In February 2012 the Weeks Centre for Social and Policy Research held a study group conference titled ‘Intersecting Family Lives, Locales and Labours’: we welcome ideas for future events and activities!

Aims & Objectives

To provide a forum to bring together the diversity of studies of families, households and relationships of members working across academic disciplines.
To promote dialogue between those who focus on sociology of families, intimacies and relationship and specialists in gender, sexuality and relationships research, taking in the broad range of possible substantive and theoretical concerns of contemporary sociology and forging new connections.
To encourage links between senior and junior researchers regionally, nationally and internationally, providing an opportunity for networking and the development of collaborative research across the fields of study.
To interrogate the key concepts and theoretical frameworks which are deployed in sociological analyses of families and relationships.
To complement the work of university based research centres by providing a national network and hub for discussion.

Future Events

Day School and Conference Sub-plenary

The day conferences encourage critical dialogue on key concepts, notably 'families', 'intimacies' and 'personal relationships', exploring the usefulness of these concepts in making sense of contemporary practices. The day conferences typically feature presentations from leading and emerging scholars, with structured group discussion. Previous day conferences have been published as Special Issue journals.

Workshops
The workshops will provide a dialogic environment where current and proposed research ideas can be presented. They will aim to build up connections between established and 'next generation' researchers. Workshops will be jointly co-ordinated with University based research centres around the UK.

BSA Annual Conference
The BSA Annual Conference has been reformatted and is now structured around a substantive conference theme and concurrent Study Group strands. The study group has maintained two parallel strands: Families, Relationships, Lifecourse. Group conveners are responsible for the selection of conference abstracts, including a diversity of research across the fields of study. We convene a Families and Relationships Study Group meeting at the conference, attempting to extend membership of the group and to allow us to reflect on our scheduled programme of activities.

Past Activities

The Weeks Centre for Social and Policy, London South Bank University held an extremely successful full day conference ‘Intersecting Family Lives, Locales and Labours’, bringing together 53 scholars from across institutions and career stages, including two plenary speakers: Professor Diane Reay (University of Cambridge) and Professor Michele Goodwin (University of Minnesota).

Questions of lives, labour and locales were addressed globally, with Dr. Tracey Reynolds (Weeks Centre) addressing ‘Transnational Families: Migrant Youth ‘Doing’ Families across Proximities and Distances’ via her ESRC funded seminar series (with Dr. Elisabetta Zontini, University of Nottingham) and Dr. Shaminder Takhar (Weeks Centre) discussing ‘Sexuality and South Asian Women’. The conference came to a close with shared concerns regarding whose lives (dis)appear in our academic productions, and how we intersect these with understanding of labours, lives and locales in and outside of academia: see http://www.genderandeducation.com/issues/difficult-intersections/

Annual Report

The Family Study Group Annual Report is now available.

Join the Families and Relationships Study Group

The group welcomes new members, including existing members of the BSA, non-BSA members, students, academics and researchers from disciplines other than sociology and international institutions. Membership is free, please contact Val Gillies to join.

Offers of help, venues or ideas for future events are always welcome.

Contact the Convenors:

Val Gillies

Weeks Centre for Social and Policy Research
London South Bank University
Send an email.

Yvette Taylor
Weeks Centre for Social and Policy Research

London South Bank University
Send an email.

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