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Life Cycles, Families and Communities

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This strand considers the role of life-cycles, families and communities as key elements of everyday life, tracing their manifestations across time and space.

We invite papers that investigate the role of the historical family within society. This includes explorations of specific family relationships, the making and breaking of family bonds, or the construction of family throughout history. We are interested in examining attitudes to, and depictions of different age groups, as well as exploring the personal experiences of individuals from different life stages. These experiences may be addressed in their biological, medical, social, political and/or cultural contexts. We encourage examinations of the shifting material dimensions of everyday life and/or changing understandings of temporality and belief.

Papers could also probe the relationship between life-courses and patterns of memory, both in an individual and a collective sense. Concepts of transition (e.g. rites of passage) between life stages will be considered alongside themes of time, age, generation and agency.

The second key focus falls upon the social meanings of life-cycles, families and communities, which may be explored within a variety of contexts, including material culture, sex, ‘race’ and gender, religious beliefs, political, social and cultural identities.

Submissions are welcomed which address these themes, whether in relation to individuals, groups or societies. Contributors may approach these topics at a variety of levels, allowing for a scope that ranges from micro-historical case studies to global approaches and methodologies. As a whole, we intend to cover different societies, time periods and cultures with this strand.

Strand Convenors