Course content
Gender relations and families come increasingly with various features and in various shapes. Contemporary transformations are connected to societal trends, such as individualization, migration, new technologies, new inequalities, and changing family policies. How are we to conceptualize recent and ongoing changes in gender relations, family structure and family life? Which mechanisms are at work when individuals and families adapt to new social circumstances? What are the implications for social justice and policy? This PhD course zooms in on new theoretical developments in the study of family and gender. Three lines of theorizing will be covered. First, classification and categorization of new family and gender regimes and of family policies. Second, explanatory models and theories of family change, with a particular focus on the role of gender and gender equality. Third, theories of social justice, with a particular focus on the relationship between family change and equal opportunities, and the role of family policy. The course will link theoretical discussions closely to methodological discussions and empirical findings. It will be a central aim for the course to connect research and theorizing in sociology to relevant research fronts in demography, political theory and policy studies.
Course leaders
Professor Cathrine Holst, UiO. Her academic interests include political theory, public policy and gender studies. She has been head of several research projects on science-policy relations. She is currently leader of a research group at the Centre for Advanced Studies (CAS) in Oslo with the project “What is a good policy?” (GOODPOL).
Professor Trude Lappegård, UiO. Her academic interests include family demography, gender equality and family policy. She is PI for a major research project about falling fertility and rising inequalities in fertility where the aim is to unpack the underlying mechanisms behind the falling fertility trend and the rising fertility inequalities in the younger generations. She is also the Editor-in-chief in European Journal of Population.
Lecturers
Senior researcher Gerda Neyer, Stockholm University. She is a leading scholar in family demography and her academic interest has been at the intersection of demography and political science with a focus on the role of institutional and political factors, welfare states, gender and social (in) equality in family development in contemporary European countries.
Professor Adam Swift, University College of London and University of Oxford. He is a distinguished political theorist who specializes in debates on equal opportunities, education and the family. One of his most recent books is Family Values: The Ethics of Parent-Child Relationships (2014) co-authored with Harry Brighouse.
Learning outcome
You will obtain knowledge about:
- new theoretical developments in the study of family and gender
- the role of gender equality on family dynamics
- the relationship between family policies and family behavior
- the relationship between family research and policy recommendations
- the role of the family from the perspective of social justice
The participants will be encouraged to relate the course discussions to their PhD-projects.
The course will focus on involving students in both plenary discussions and work in groups.
Admission
The course is open to all PhD students with interest and competence in one or more of the covered topics, but will be of special relevance to students with backgrounds from sociology, demography, political science, or related fields, and with an interest in family studies and policy.
Ph.D.-students at the Department of Sociology and Human Geography register for the course in StudentWeb.
Interested participant outside the Department of Sociology and Human Geography shall fill out this application form. There is some, although limited funding available for covering hotel costs. Please indicate in the application form whether you apply for such coverage
Application opens 1st June 2021. The deadline for registration is 13th September 2021. After the deadline shall all applicants receive a note about if the application is approved.
Schedule
The course comprises four days. Day 1 start with joint lunch and day 4 ends with joint lunch. The schedule contains 11 sessions including lectures, discussions and student presentations. There is a joint dinner on day 2.