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2020/2021

New Family Structures and New Domestic Groups

Code: 101245 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500256 Social and Cultural Anthropology OT 3 0
2500256 Social and Cultural Anthropology OT 4 0
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Jorge Grau Rebollo
Email:
Jordi.Grau@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Prerequisites

There is no prerequisite for this course, but it is recommended to have previously studied Anthropology of Kinship.

This course is mostly taught in Catalan.

Objectives and Contextualisation

This is an optional subject of fourth year of the Degree of Social and Cultural Anthropology that belongs to the specialized fields of Culture and Society.

The subject aims at the study of the changes that occur in kinship relations within our own sociocultural context. For this reason, the use of concepts such as "family" or "marriage", for example, does not refer to theoretical concepts but to terms that are specific to our culture. Hence, specific topics will include new reproductive technologies, increased adoptions, same-sex families, multi-parenting and childless couples, as well as their impact on the conceptualization of kinship.

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able:

  •     To know the typologies and the theoretical debates on new forms of family organization and the formation of new domestic groups.
  •     To locate these debates within the critical theory of kinship and the studies of family in our cultural environment.
  •     To relate the new forms of family organization and the new domestic groups with the sociocultural and historical coordinates in which they appear and develop.
  •     To analyze the influences that can entail the inequalities of gender, social class, ethnicity, age, affective-sexual orientation and identity in the organization of these new typologies.

Competences

    Social and Cultural Anthropology
  • Apprehending cultural diversity through ethnography and critically assessing ethnographic materials as knowledge of local contexts and as a proposal of theoretical models.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Producing cultural diversity materials that could have a critical impact on the common sense conceptions.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the history of anthropological theory and the genesis of its basic concepts.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analysing a contemporary fact from an anthropological perspective.
  2. Analysing data critically from anthropological investigations and reports.
  3. Assessing critically the explicit and implicit theoretical models in the ethnographic materials.
  4. Explaining the work's results narratively in accordance with the critical standards of discipline and bearing in mind the different target audiences.
  5. Identifying main and supporting ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  6. Identifying the contemporary interdisciplinary tendencies shared by the Anthropology and social disciplines related to the corresponding field.
  7. Identifying the sociocultural variability in specific ethnographic contexts.

Content

Unit 1. From the 80s theoretical convulsion to the new orientations in the study of kinship.

Unit 2. The study of new forms of family and new domestic groups. Theoretical proposals and historical contexts.

Unit 3. Families and emerging forms of relationality, nurture and coexistence.

Methodology

TRAINING ACTIVITIES:

  • Lectures and oriented sessions of debate and group discussion.
  • Analysis of audiovisual productions with an ethnographic content.
  • Writing and essay presentation. Audiovisual and multimedia elaboration and presentation. Teamwork.
  • Individual study.
  • Assessment.

 TEACHING METHODOLOGY:

  • Lecturing with ICT support.
  • Debates in the class group.
  • Viewing and discussion of audio-visual documents and other multimedia productions.
  • Group–based tutorials.
  • Application of theoretical concepts to the analysis of ethnographic situations.
  • Elaboration of memos and summaries.
  • Written exam.
  • Oral small group presentations with audiovisual support.
  • Teamwork.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Discussion on ethnographic production in different formats 5.7 0.23 2, 1, 3, 4
Group Debates 6 0.24 1, 3, 6
Lectures 26 1.04 2, 1, 3, 7, 6
Written Exam 2 0.08 2, 3
Type: Supervised      
Individual or team work and presentation 20 0.8 2, 4, 5
Tutorials (written and audiovisual essay) 12 0.48 2, 1, 4, 5
Type: Autonomous      
Individual Study 40 1.6 2, 1, 3, 7, 6
Readings, document search and information analysis 36 1.44 2, 1, 7, 6

Assessment

A commitment document will be available at the Moodle space. This document must be signed and delivered (deadline: October 6th, 2020).


Group-based work:

We will work in groups of three students, "experts":

1. Responsible for bibliographical theoretical sources.

2. Responsible for documentary audiovisual sources.

3. Responsible for popular narratives and other sources of information.

• All three will work the empirical part together.

• All three will share what they find and do later articulate it within the essay.

Throughout the course there will be group sessions with the lecturer, additionally to the office attention that each group may need.

Each student will prepare the exam individually.

Form of evaluation:

Module 1: Each group will submit work tracking reports and minutes of every group meetings (including date, agenda and agreements and any problems that may arise). I will provide proper feedback to each submitted report. (10% of the final grade).

Module 2: Presentation of the final work in two formats: (a) an audiovisual piece (between 5 and 10 minutes) [20%] and (b) a text-based essay (via Moodle) [25%]. (45% of the final grade).

Module 3: Individual written examination of the course contents (lectures and oral presentations). (30% of the final grade).

Module 4: Progression of each student within the course (attendance, participation and active involvement). (15%of the final grade). (The evaluation activities of this module cannot be re-assessed).

At the beginning of the course, you will be informed about the possibility of improving your grade by carrying out a specific activity. More information will be available at the ClassroomMoodle in September.

Reviewing procedure:
At every evaluation activity, the lecturer will inform the students (Moodle) of the procedure and date for reviewing the qualifications


Indications foraudiovisual work:

This format would help to improve communicational competences by strengthening different communication skills according to increasingly frequent activities in our professional environment: video presentations, reports with audiovisual support / format, videoCvs, etc.

Students can use cell phones (mobile devices) at all stages of recording and editing. It will not be necessary to use additional recording / editing equipment (cameras, camcorders, expensive software...).

For editing, it is advisable to use a free program (e.g. VideoPad free version, Windows Movie Maker, iMovie, etc.) and to check the user manuals. There are free video and audio editing programs for different operating systems such as Windows, Apple or Linux. (See the formal guidelines document for presentation at the Moodle).

Students should be aware of Copyright and Intellectual property restrictions. Hence, you cannot use any material which you don’t own the rights of (or the corresponding authorization for their eventual use). Creative Commons and similar licenses may be used (always in accordance with the conditions stipulated).

Although the final product is intended only as evidence of evaluation, it is recommended to use a Creative Commons license (http://es.creativecommons.org/blog/).

The video length should be between a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10 minutes.

The videos (mp4 formatted) will be uploaded in the classroom Moodle . The aim is that all groups could see and work all videos before collective sessions of debate in class. (More information available at the Moodle space).

Evaluation criteria:

Module 1: The final grade will be set in accordance to the correct preparation of all minute sections, the timely delivery of all group meetings minutes and the overall number of group meetings.

Module 2: The final grade will be set in accordance to:

A) (For the audiovisual part): the adequacy of the presentation to the approach of the selected issue, the selection and organization of relevant information, the structure of the presentation, the adjustment to the allotted time, the clarity in the exhibition and the consistency in the argumentation.

B) (For the written part): the relevance of the chosen approach, the logical structure of the final work, the adequacy of the selected documentary repertoire, the elaboration of the selected information, the consistency of the arguments, and the orthographic and grammatical correction.

C) (For the Debates): the relevance in the responses to the questions that may arise during the debate.

Module 3: The final grade will be based on the adequacy of the answers to the formulated questions, the writing coherence and the orthographic and grammatical correction.

Module 4: Attendance and participation will be assessed, as well as the active involvement in thecourse activities.

Failure to follow the format guidelines can result in the loss of points or even in the essay rejection.

The course will be considered non-evaluable in case of one ofthese situations: (1) if the commitment document is not delivered by October 6th at latest. (2) If, once delivered, the student does not complete te activities of, at least, one full module.

In order to re-evaluate the course it is necessary to complete the evaluation of modules 1, 2 and 3, and to have passed at least one of them.

More detailed information available at the course Moodle.

Plagiarism: 

In the event of astudent committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. The lecturer will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Essay follow-up reports and group meeting minutes 10% 0 0 4
Exam 30% 2 0.08 2, 3
Presentations (written, audiovisual, oral) 45% 0.3 0.01 2, 1, 3, 4, 7, 5, 6
Student Progress (attendance, participation and course implication) 15% 0 0 2, 7

Bibliography

Course textbook:

Grau Rebollo, Jorge. (2016). Nuevas formas de familia. Ámbitos emergentes. Barcelona: Edicions Bellaterra.

General references:

Álvarez, Cristina (2006) Múltiples maternidades y la insoportable levedad de la paternidad en reproducción humana asistida. Revista de Antropología Social. 15, pp. 411-415.

Bestard, Joan (coord.) (2012) Noves formes de família / Nuevas formas de familia. Metrópolis, cuaderno central. Publicació en línia: http://www.barcelonametropolis.cat/site/unitFiles/607/QCFamilia_Metropolis.pdf.

Breger, Rosemary and Hill, Rosanna. (eds) (1998) Cross-Cultural Marriage. Identity and Choice. Oxford: Berg.

Cabré, Anna and Domingo, Andreu (2007) "Tal com èrem i tal com som". L'Avenç, 323: pp. 20-26.

Cadoret, Anne (2007) “L’apport des familles homoparentales dans le débat actuel sur la construction de la parenté”. L’Homme, 183: 55-76.

Cadoret, Anne (2010) “Maternité et parenté plurielle”, en Fons, V., Piella, A. y Valdés, M. (Eds.) Procreación, crianza y género. Aproximaciones antropológicas a la parentalidad. Barcelona: PPU, pp: 279-291.

Carsten, Janet (2004) After Kinship. Cambridge University Press.

Carsten, Janet (2000) Cultures of Relatedness: New Approaches to the Study of Kinship (edited). Cambridge University Press.

Carsten, Janet (1997) The Heat of the Hearth: The Process ofKinship in a Malay Fishing Community. Oxford: Clarendon Pres

Comas d’Argemir, Dolors (1993) “Noves Formes de Família”. Revista del Centre d’Investigació, Formació i Assessorament. Diputació de Barcelona;11; pp: 25-31.

Comas d’Argemir, Dolors (2000) “Mujeres, Familia y Estado del Bienestar”, en Del Valle Teresa (Ed.) Perspectivas Feministas desde la Antropología Social. Barcelona: Ariel, pp: 187. 204.

Comas d’Argemir, Dolors. (2012)“Políticas públicas y vida cotidiana. Redescubrimiento y auge de las políticas familiares en España”. Scripta Nova. Revista electrónica de Geografía y Ciencias Sociales. [En línea]. Barcelona: Universidad de Barcelona, 15 de marzo de 2012, vol. XVI, nº 395 (20).

Cortina, Clara; Esteve, Albert and Domingo, Andreu.  (2006) "Crecimiento y singularidades demográficas de los matrimonios de extranjeros en España", Migraciones 20: 75-105.

Donoso, Silvia (2006) “Maternidad lésbica: reconocimiento y soporte en el ámbito de las relaciones familiares”. En Roigé Ventura, X. (Coord.) Familias de ayer, familias de hoy. Continuidades y cambios en Cataluña. Barcelona: Icaria, pp: 515-534.

Flaquer, Lluís (1998a) “Família i noves formes de convivència”, en Giner, S. (dir.) (1998) La Societat Catalana. Barcelona: Institut d’Estadística de Catalunya, Generalitat de Catalunya, pp: 401-415.

Grau Rebollo, Jorge (2006) Procreación, género e identidad. Debates actuales sobre el parentesco y la familia en clave transcultural. Barcelona: Ediciones Bellaterra.

Grau Rebollo, Jorge (2010) “Parentesco e identidad.Debates recientes en torno al binomionaturaleza-cultura. ¿Rebiologización o reideologización del Parentesco?”, a Díaz Cruz, R.; González Echevarría, A. (Eds) Naturalezas, cuerpos, culturas. Metamorfosis e intersecciones; México D.F.: UAM-JuanPablos; pp: 81-109.

Grau Rebollo, Jorge (2011) Parentesco, adscripción y crianza. Elaboraciones culturales de la adopción internacional y la circulación de niños. Revista de Antropología Social, 20, pp. 31-54.

Grau Rebollo, Jorge. (2018). “Familia”, in Aguirre Baztán, A. (Dir.) Diccionario Temático de Antropología, Madrid: Delta Publicaciones, pp. 233-237.

Grau Rebollo, Jorge. (2020). Posverdad y Ficción. Cómo la distorsión (des)explica el mundo. Barcelona: Edicions Bellaterra. ISBN: 978-84-7290-980-9

Imaz, Elixabete (2010) “¿Madre no hay más que una? De cómo la reflexión sobre las familias lesbianas ayuda a evidenciar el carácter cultural y de género de la maternidad”, en Fons, V., Piella, A. y Valdés, M. (Eds.) Procreación, crianza y género. Aproximaciones antropológicas a la parentalidad. Barcelona: PPU, pp:  359-376.

Jiménez Godoy, Ana Belén. (2005) Modelos y realidades de la familia actual. Barcelona: Fundamentos.

Konvalinka, Nancy (ed.) (2012) Modos y maneras de hacer familia : las familias tardias, una modalidad emergente. Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva.

Melhuss, Maritt (2010) “Hijos sin madres, padres desconocidos y otros problemas de filiación. Hechos reproductivos e imaginaciones procreativas en Noruega”, en Fons, V., Piella, A. y Valdés, M. (Eds.) Procreación, crianza y género. Aproximaciones antropológicas a la parentalidad. Barcelona: PPU, pp: 27-42.

Miret, Pau and Cabré, Anna (Ed.) (2010) "Monogràfic “El desarrollo de la familia en España desde una perspectiva demográfica”". Papers. Revista de Sociologia, 95 (3) : pp. 1-754.

Olavarría, María Eugenia(2002) “De la casa al laboratorio. La teoría del parentesco hoy día”. Alteridades, 12 (24): 99-116.

Pichardo, José Ignacio (2009) Entender la diversidad familiar. Relaciones homosexuales y nuevos modelos de familia. Barcelona: Edicions Bellaterra.

Piella Vila, Anna (2011) “Tener o no tener...hijos. Una aproximación histórica y transcultural a la relación entre parentesco e infecundidad”, en Grau, J.; Rodríguez, D. y Valenzuela, H. (Eds). ParentescoS. Modelos culturales de reproducción. Barcelona: PPU, pp: 419-444.

Poveda, David; Jociles, Mª Isabel and Rivas, Ana Mª (2011) Monoparentalidad por elección: procesos de socialización de los hijos/as en un modelo familiar no convencional. Athenea digital. 11 (2): 133-154.

Ragoné, Helena (1996) Chasing the blood tie: Surrogate Mothers, Adoptive Mothers and Fathers. American Ethnologist, 23 (2), pp. 352-365.

Rodríguez García, Dan (2010) “Parentesco transnacional: intersecciones entre las teorías sobre migración y el ámbito procreativo”, en V. Fons, A. Piella y M. Valdés (eds). Procreación, crianza y género. Aproximaciones antropológicas a la parentalidad. Barcelona: PPU, pp: 119-140.

Roigé Ventura, Xavier. (Coord.) (2006) Familias de ayer, familias de hoy. Continuidades y cambios en Cataluña. Barcelona: Icaria.

Strohm, Charles et al. (2009) “Living ApartTogether” relationships in the United States. Demographic Research. 21 (7), pp. 177-214.

Filmography:

Grau Rebollo, Jorge. (2020). El Proyecto Vulneras. 5’56 min. Color. https://youtu.be/saWQDAbVtw8

Grau Rebollo, Jorge. (2020). Cifras en torno a la pobreza infantil (I). 6,45 min. Color. https://youtu.be/aSKOgj3PgTg.

Grau Rebollo, Jorge. (2020). Cifras en torno a la pobreza infantil (II). 5’43 min. Color. https://youtu.be/YHiGCE5pCYY.

Grau Rebollo, Jorge. (2020). Redes de apoyo en contextos de crianza vulnerable (I). 8,17 min. Color. https://youtu.be/ofu62pw6xX0.

Grau Rebollo, Jorge. (2020). Redes de apoyo en contextos de crianza vulnerable (II). 11’53 min. Color. https://youtu.be/lIWBvDcMk2A.

Vídeo-podcasts del projecte VulneraS: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8qycc06Xd6hsPS3Udwwtmg.