‘A trend toward what’s been called “intensive” (Hays, 1996) or “paranoid” (Furedi, 2002) parenting has been widely observed by scholars working on family life in a range of geographical contexts—notably, in the United Kingdom and the United States, but also beyond. This strand of our research explores the implications of this wider historical shift, through the use of ethnographic examples, bringing up points of similarity and points of departure in local contexts.
Are parents actually anxious and “paranoid” (Furedi, 2002) or does ethnographic evidence from around the world reveal something different? To what extent is this a global trend, or something confined to specific class or cultural-based milieus in specific contexts?
Projects investigating these questions:
- Parenting cultures and risk management in plural Norway
- Parenting in global perspective
- Making Parents
- Childhood, wellbeing and parenting
- Parenting, childhood and adult-child relations in global perspective
- Migrant parents
International Conference June 2016: ‘Parenting and Personhood: Cross-cultural perspectives on expertise, family life and risk management
This event was held 22-24 June 2016. Hosted by the Centre for Parenting Culture Studies, it was part of the project, ‘Parenting Cultures and Risk Management in Plural Norway’.
At the conference, findings from the project were presented, in addition to over 75 papers given by researchers from all over the world. The papers explored the interplay between parenting cultures, personhood, expertise and risk management. The event was a genuinely interdisciplinary dialogue among those with common research interests.
Read the Keynote abstracts and listen to Keynote recordings
Background to the event
Paper abstracts (PDF)
Participants