Parenthood and family

Semester 1 · 51128 · Bachelor in Social Work · 11CP · EN · DE

Familiensoziologie
In this course, we will examine sociological concepts relating to families, parenthood, and their life worlds. This includes the family's fundamental social roles and functions, the social construction of families and current social challenges for families. Students gain basic theoretical knowledge about families, including in relation to South Tyrol and as essential background knowledge for social work practice.

Family, gender, and power
The course promotes a deconstructionist approach to gender and family, highlighting that these sets of categories and practices are historically, politically, socially, and culturally produced, reproduced, and transformed, in connection to power relations. Students will discuss theoretical concepts and ethnographic examples from sociocultural anthropology and, especially, feminist anthropology, to critically frame cultural differences, social inequalities, and individual diversity in a transcultural perspective.

Lecturers: Ulrike Elfriede Loch, Daniela Salvucci

Teaching Hours: 66
Lab Hours: 0
Mandatory Attendance: In accordance with the regulation

Course Topics
Gender and family are often taken for granted as a “natural” basis of our everyday life. Nonetheless, people from different cultural and social contexts perceive, practice, and perform gender, and family in very different ways. These diverse sets of cultural perceptions and practices tend to cross, overlap, and even mix nowadays in our globalized society. The naturality, or biological evidence of sex-gender and heterosexual nuclear family, although it works as a dominant category, is but just one among multiple sociocultural understandings, one which has been disputed by grass-roots and LGTBQ political movements, and deconstructed by scholars from social and cultural sciences as a specific ethnocentric ideology. This course draws on theories and examples from sociocultural anthropology and sociology of the family as well as from such interdisciplinary fields as feminist theory, women, gender, queer studies and social work. It promotes a deconstructionist approach toward gender, family, and generation to understand how these sets of categories and practices are historically, politically, socially and culturally produced, reproduced and transformed within different sociocultural contexts, between which South Tyrol. The course will introduce transcultural perspectives, in connection with hegemony, domination, power and empowerment processes. Another focus will be on interactions, which are the basis of family education, transmission of social processes and care. It will be discussed in relation to questions about childhood, aging, parenthood and under special social circumstances such as poverty, discrimination or violence, with a strong connection to social work.

Teaching format
Frontal lectures; discussions; students’ presentations in class; group work; work with texts

Educational objectives
Specific educational objectives Scientific area: sociology and sociocultural anthropology The module is designed for acquiring academic knowledge on sociological theories of families and parenthood, as well as on anthropological theories of gender, and family. Students will gain skills in reflexivity, critical analysis, and transcultural interpretation and mediation, which are needed for professional social work. Additionally, the module will encourage students to critically engage with scientific texts, to write short texts, and to produce individual and in-group small works, such as in-class presentations, enhancing their skills in reading and discussing scientific literature, as well as in writing and elaborating and presenting their own work in an academic setting. Learning outcomes Knowledge and understanding • Knowledge of basic concepts referring to social construction, social roles and functions, cultural relativism and the transcultural perspective. • Knowledge of specific sociological theories on family, parenthood, generations, and care, as well as sociocultural anthropological theories on gender, family, and power. • Acquisition of appropriate scientific languages for the description and analysis of social and cultural phenomena. Applying knowledge and understanding • Ability to apply sociological and anthropological approaches and concepts to the analysis and understanding of parenthood, family, and gender as socially, culturally, and politically constructed categories, and as experiences and practices of the everyday life. • Ability to apply academic knowledge and sociological and anthropological theories on parenthood, family, and gender to one own personal and professional experience, as well as to possible situations of social and cultural interpretation and mediation within social work. Making judgements • Development of critical and independent thinking regarding social roles, functions, and current challenges of families, as well as the interconnection of family, gender, and power in both everyday practices and social structures. • Development of reflexive self-awareness in relation to family, parenthood, gender, and power as social and cultural categories and sets of practices, which are historically and politically produced, reproduced, and transformed. Communication skills • Ability to recognize the fundamental elements of scientific writing. • Ability to develop a correctly structured short scientific presentation (both written and oral). • Ability to participate in scientifically grounded discussions and express an informed opinion. • Ability to communicate appropriately in an academic setting. Learning skills • Ability to autonomously extend the knowledge acquired during the course in dealing with social work settings. • Ability to acquire new approaches and theoretical concepts to analyse, deconstruct and understand taken-for-granted categories and the complexity of social and cultural practices.

Assessment
The following assessments are required in each part of the module (Sociology and Anthropology): Oral presentation in classroom – 30% Handout of 2-3 written pages accompanying the presentation – 20% Final text-based oral exam - 50% The topics and texts for the presentation and the final examination will be agreed upon with the respective lecturer. The oral presentation in the classroom can be replaced by preparing 3 additional articles for discussion in the final exam. The articles must be decided together with the docent in advance.

Evaluation criteria
Criteria for the evaluation will consider a) the ability to accurately apply and explain course concepts and instruments (50%), b) the formulation of original opinions and analyses (25)%, and c) the logical structure of exposition and argumentation (25%).

Required readings

Bourdieu, P., 2001 (1998). Masculine Domination, Stanford University Press.

Collier J., Rosaldo M. Z., Yanagisako S. J., (1997). Is there a family? New anthropological view, in Lancaster R. N., di Leonardo M. (eds.) The Gender/Sexuality Reader. Culture, history, political economy, Routledge, pp. 71-81.

Ecarius J., Köbel N., Wahl K. (2011). Familie, Erziehung und Sozialisation. VS Verlag

Foucault M., 1978 (1976), The History of Sexuality. Volume I: An Introduction, Pantheon Books, pp. 81-114.

Ortner, S., Whitehead H. (eds.) (1981). Introduction: Accounting for sexual meanings in Sexual meanings: the cultural construction of gender and sexuality, Cambridge University Press.

Saraceno C.,Naldini M. (2021). Sociologia della famiglia, quarta edizione. Il mulino

Supplementary readings

Further literature will be announced during the course.

Download as pdf

Sustainable Development Goals
This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the following Sustainable Development Goals.

3 5 10

Modules

Semester 1 · 51128A · Bachelor in Social Work · 5CP · DE

Module A — Sociology of the family

In this course, we will examine sociological concepts relating to families, parenthood, and their life worlds. This includes the family's fundamental social roles and functions, the social construction of families and current social challenges for families. Students gain basic theoretical knowledge about families, including in relation to South Tyrol and as essential background knowledge for social work practice.

Lecturers: Ulrike Elfriede Loch

Teaching Hours: 30
Lab Hours: 0

Course Topics
In this course, we will explore concepts related to family and gender. These include the fundamental social roles and functions of the family, the social construction of families, and their diversity. We will also cover topics such as generations, intergenerational and intragenerational relationships, work–family balance, and care, and discuss them in the context of social work and, at times, social education.

Teaching format
Frontal lectures; discussions; students’ presentations in class; group work; work with texts

Required readings

Ecarius J. (2010). Familieninteraktion – Identitätsbildung und Kultur soziale Reproduktion. In: Rüdiger Müller/ Jutta Ecarius/ Heidrun Herzberg (Hg.). Familie, Generation und Bildung. Budrich, S. 17-32.

Ecarius J., Köbel N., Wahl K. (2011). Familie, Erziehung und Sozialisation. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag.

Supplementary readings

Bauer P., Wiezorek Ch. (2022). Familienbilder in der Sozialpädagogik. In: A. Schierbaum, J. Ecarius (Hg.), Handbuch Familie. Wiesbaden: Springer, 621-640

Büchner P., Brake A. (Hg.) (2006). Bildungsort Familie. VS Verlag.

Büchner, P., Wahl, K. (2005). Die Familie als informeller Bildungsort. Über die Bedeutung familialer Bildungsleistungen im Kontext der Entstehung und Vermeidung von Bildungsarmut. In: Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft. 8(3), S. 356-373

Dörfler, S., Buchebner-Ferstl, S., Tazi-Preve, M. (2012). „Ich bin jung, ich muss noch viel machen“. Lebenskonzepte und -verläufe von Jugendlichen mit und ohne Migrationshintergrund in Österreich. Budrich

Ecarius J. (2010). Familieninteraktion – Identitätsbildung, Kultur und soziale Reproduktion. In: Rüdiger Müller/ Jutta Ecarius/ Heidrun Herzberg (Hg.). Familie, Generation und Bildung. Budrich, S. 17-32.

Ecarius, J., Köbel, N. & Wahl, K. (2011). Familie, Erziehung und Sozialisation. VS Verlag

Ecarius, J., Schierbaum, A. (Hg.) (2022). Handbuch Familie. Band I: Gesellschaft, Familienbeziehungen und differentielle Felder. VS Springer

Schierbaum, A. Ecarius, J., (Hg.) (2022): Handbuch Familie. Band II: Erziehung, Bildung und pädagogische Arbeitsfelder. Wiesbaden: VS Springer

Eßer F., Köngeter S. (2015). Doing and displaying family in der Heimerziehung. In: Susann Fegter/ Catrin Heite/ Johanna Mierendorff/ Martina Richter (Hg.). Neue Aufmerksamkeiten für Familie. Diskurse Bilder und Adressierungen in der Sozialen Arbeit. Lahnstein: neue praxis, 112-124.

Hahn, R. (2025). Dass dir das Leben gelinge – Werte und Zugehörigkeit im Kontext von Familie, Migration und Glaube. Eine biographieanalytische Studie. Budrich

Hank, K, Hill, P., Kopp, J., Steinbach, A (2023): Familiensoziologie. Eine kompakte Einführung. Springer VS

Krinninger, D., Schulz, M. (2022). Kindheit in Familie. In: J. Ecarius, A. Schierbaum (Hg.), Handbuch Familie. (Bd.1) Wiesbaden: Springer, 395-413

Leitner, S./ Loch, U./ Sting, St. (2011). Geschwister in der Fremdunterbringung. Fallrekonstruktionen von Geschwisterbeziehungen in SOS-Kinderdörfern aus der Sicht von Kindern und Jugendlichen. Münster: LitSaraceno, Chiara (2017): L' equivoco della famiglia. Laterza

Loch, Ulrike (2014). Kinderschutz mit psychisch krankten Eltern. Ethnografie im Jugendamt. BeltzJuventa

Saraceno, C. (2025) La famiglia naturale non esiste. Laterza

Saraceno, C. & Naldin,i M. (2021). Sociologia della famiglia, quarta edizione. Il mulino

Tazi-Preve, M. (2018): Das Versagen der Kleinfamilie. Kapitalismus, Liebe und Staat. Budrich

Uhlendorf, U., Euteneuer, M. & Sabla, K.-P. (2013). Soziale Arbeit mit Familien. Reinhard/UTB

UNICEF (2025). Eine Perspektive für jedes Kind. UNICEF-Bericht zur Lage der Kinder in Deutschland 2025. https://www.unicef.de/385624/data/d621666e6a2f3c427c427ccf96df887e

Semester 1 · 51128B · Bachelor in Social Work · 6CP · EN

Module B — Family, gender and power

The course promotes a deconstructionist approach to gender and family, highlighting that these sets of categories and practices are historically, politically, socially, and culturally produced, reproduced, and transformed, in connection to power relations. Students will discuss theoretical concepts and ethnographic examples from sociocultural anthropology and, especially, feminist anthropology, to critically frame cultural differences, social inequalities, and individual diversity in a transcultural perspective.

Lecturers: Daniela Salvucci

Teaching Hours: 36
Lab Hours: 0

Course Topics
• Cultural relativism and the transcultural perspective. • Incorporation of sociocultural worlds: embodiment (Csordas), habitus and the masculine domination (Bourdieu). • Substances, body-person, and gender: individual and dividual personhood (Strathern). • The deployment of sexuality, power and bio-power: the modern “Western” regime of power-knowledge (Foucault). • Sociocultural production of sex-gender: body, gender and sexuality (Wekker); the traffic in women (Rubin); social status and gender hierarchy (Ortner, Whitehead). • Gender troubles: performativity and subversive performances (Butler). • Hegemony, colonization, race, and gender (Tengan, Connell). • Feminist anthropology and the interconnection of gender and family-kinship (Collier, Rosaldo, Yanagisako). • From family/kinship to relatedness: Euromerican kinship (Schneider); kinning (Howell) and de-kinning (Fonseca); cultures of relatedness (Carsten). • Family, households, and new forms of families: reconstituted families, homoparental families, living apart, transnational families, matrifocal families (Simpson, Parreñas, Grilli, Herlihy, Solinas, Viazzo, Lewin, Weston, etc.). • The transformation of intimacy (Giddens, Jamieson) • New technologies of reproduction: e.g. Assisted Reproductive Technologies, (Grilli, Parisi; Teman). • Intersectionality, violence, structural violence, agency (Crenshaw, Farmer, Constable) • Feminism, pop-feminism, empowerment (Banet-Weiser)

Teaching format
Frontal lectures; discussions; students' writing; students’ presentations in class.

Required readings

Banet-Weiser, S., 2018, Empowered: Popular Feminism and Popular Misogyny, Duke University Press. Introduction.

Bourdieu, P., 2001 (1998) Masculine Domination, Stanford University Press.

Butler, J., 1993, Critically Queer, in Bodies that matter. On the discursive limits of “sex”, Routledge, pp. 221-242.

Carsten J. (ed.), 2000, Introduction, in Cultures of relatedness. New approaches to the study of kinship, Cambridge university press, pp. 1-37.

Collier J., Rosaldo M. Z., Yanagisako S. J., 1997, Is there a family? New anthropological view, in Lancaster R. N., di Leonardo M. (eds.) The Gender/Sexuality Reader. Culture, history, political economy, Routledge, pp. 71-81.

Collier J., Yanagisako S. J., (eds.), 1987, Gender and Kinship. Essays toward a unified analysis, Stanford University press, pp. 1-50.

Connell R. W., Messerschmidt J. W. 2005, Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept, Gender and Society, vol. 19, 6, pp. 829-859.

Constable N. 2006. Brides, maids, and prostitutes: reflections on the study of ‘trafficked’ women. PORTAL, Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies, v. 3, n. 2, pp. 1-25.

Crenshaw, K., 1989, Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex. University of Chicago Legal Forum, vol. 1989, Iss. 1, Article 8, pp. 139-167.

Farmer, P., 1996, On Suffering and Structural Violence: A View from Below, Daedalus, vol. 125, n. 1, pp. 261-283.

Fonseca, C., 2011, The De-Kinning of Birthmothers: Reflections on maternity and being Human, vibrant v.8 n.2, pp. 307-339.

Foucault M., 1978 (1976), The History of Sexuality. Volume I: An Introduction, Pantheon Books, pp. 81-114.

Giddens, A., 1992, The Transformations of Intimacy, Cambridge Polity Press, pp. 37-64.

Grilli, S., Parisi, R., 2016, New Family Relationships: between Bio-genetic and Kinship Rarefaction Scenarios, Antropologia, 3(1), pp. 29-51.

Howell, S., 2003, Kinning: the creation of life trajectories in transnational adoptive families, Royal Anthropological Institute, n. 9, pp. 465-484.

Jamieson, L., 1999, Intimacy transformed? A critical look at the ‘pure relationship’, Sociology, v. 33, n. 3, pp. 477–494.

Laslett, P., 1972, “Introduction”, in Laslett P. (ed.) Household and Family in past time. Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-89.

Ortner, S., Whitehead H. (eds.), 1981, Introduction: Accounting for sexual meanings in Sexual meanings: the cultural construction of gender and sexuality, Cambridge University Press.

Ribeiro Corossacz, V., 2018, The uses of silence. Researching sexual harassment against female domestic workers in Brazil, ANUAC, 7(1), pp. 43-65.

Rubin, G., 1975, The Traffic in Women: notes on the “political economy” of sex, in Reiter R. (ed.), Toward an Anthropology of Women, Monthly Review Press, pp. 157- 210.

Schneider, D., 1981, American Kinship. A cultural account, University of Chicago Press, pp. 21-41.

Simpson, B., 1994, Bringing the `Unclear' Family into Focus: Divorce and Re-Marriage in Contemporary Britain, Man, New Series, v. 29, n. 4, pp. 831-851.

Scodellaro, C. et al., 2017, Disorders in Social Relationships. The Case of Anorexia and Bulimia, Revue française de sociologie, v. 58, n. 1, pp. 1-30.

Strathern, M., 1992, To put the English at a distance, in After nature: English kinship in the late twentieth century, Cambridge University Press, pp. 55-75.

Tengan, K., 2002, (En)gendering Colonialism: Masculinities in Hawai’i and Aotearoa, Cultural Values, v. 6, n. 3, 239-256.

Teman, E., 2009, Embodying Surrogate Motherhood: Pregnancy as a Dyadic Body-project, Body&Society, v. 15, n. 3, pp. 47–69.

Wekker, G., 2006 (1999), ’What’s identity got to do with it?’: Rethinking identity in light of the Mati Work in Suriname”, in Lewin (ed.), Feminist Anthropology. A reader, Blackwell Publishing, pp. 433-448.

Supplementary readings

A supplementary bibliography is provided in the Teams.