I am a family sociologist, with particular interests in inter-cultural dialogue (including work in China and in Senegal), and in the notion of 'family troubles', including children's experiences of death. Address: Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom
While there is a significant interdisciplinary and international literature available on death, d... more While there is a significant interdisciplinary and international literature available on death, dying and bereavement, literature addressing responses to death is dominated by assumptions about individuality, framing ‘bereavement’ and ‘grief’ in terms of the inner psychic life of the individual. Scholarly literature tells us little about how the continuing aftermath of death is experienced in the everyday, relational lives of the living. Inspired by research from Majority Worlds, we consider literature that might enable a more ‘relational’ sociological approach, and explore what that might involve. We set out the potential for family sociology to provide an intrinsically (if variable) relational lens on the aftermath of death, along with examples of radical relational theorising more generally. We argue for a reframing and broadening of the dominant ‘bereavement studies’ of Minority Worlds towards a much-needed paradigm shift in understanding the continuing aftermath of death in the...
This study provides the first in-depth understanding of responses to death, care and family relat... more This study provides the first in-depth understanding of responses to death, care and family relations in an urban West African context. The loss of a close adult relative is a significant life transition that almost everyone experiences at some point in the lifecourse and which may have a range of material, social and emotional consequences for children and families. The research aimed to investigate the material and emotional significance of a death of a close adult relative for family members of different genders and generations in urban Senegal. It aimed to explore how the death of a close relative impacts on identities, caring relations and responsibilities among families of varying socio-economic status and diverse ethnicities (focusing on the three largest ethnic groups, Wolof, Hal Pulaaren and Serer) in two cities.
This study provides the first in-depth understanding of responses to death, care and family relat... more This study provides the first in-depth understanding of responses to death, care and family relations in an urban West African context. The loss of a close adult relative is a significant life transition that almost everyone experiences at some point in the lifecourse and which may have a range of material, social and emotional consequences for children and families. The research aimed to investigate the material and emotional significance of a death of a close adult relative for family members of different genders and generations in urban Senegal. It aimed to explore how the death of a close relative impacts on identities, caring relations and responsibilities among families of varying socio-economic status and diverse ethnicities (focusing on the three largest ethnic groups, Wolof, Hal Pulaaren and Serer) in two cities.
The concept of 'caringscapes' (McKie el al, 2002; Bowlby, 2012) is helpful in analysing t... more The concept of 'caringscapes' (McKie el al, 2002; Bowlby, 2012) is helpful in analysing time-space practices of informal care, including practical activities of caring as well as the feelings and subjective positions of different actors involved in caring pathways across different temporal and spatial contexts. In this paper, we explore the caringscapes of family members who have experienced the death of a relative in urban Senegal from a gendered and intergenerational perspective. We draw on our initial analyses of in-depth interviews with two generations of family members (29 adults and 30 young people aged 12-30) living in two cities (Dakar and Kaolack) in Senegal, as part of a research project funded by the Leverhulme Trust. Interviews were also conducted with 20 key informants, comprising local and religious leaders, government and NGO representatives, in addition to four focus groups with groups of women and young people in each urban location. We explore the ways that emotional, practical and material time-space practices of care that adults, young people and community members engage in following the death of a relative are embedded in gendered, inter- and intra-generational relations and provide some initial insights into religious, ethnic and place-based differences.Peer reviewe
Despite calls for cross-cultural research, Minority world perspectives still dominate death and b... more Despite calls for cross-cultural research, Minority world perspectives still dominate death and bereavement studies, emphasizing individualized emotions and neglecting contextual diversities. In research concerned with contemporary African societies, on the other hand, death and loss are generally subsumed within concerns about AIDS or poverty, with little attention paid to the emotional and personal significance of a death. Here, we draw on interactionist sociology to present major themes from a qualitative study of family deaths in urban Senegal, theoretically framed through the duality of meanings-in-context. Such themes included family and community as support and motivation; religious beliefs and practices as frameworks for solace and (regulatory) meaning; and material circumstances as these are intrinsically bound up with emotions. Although we identify the experience of (embodied, emotional) pain as a common response across Minority and Majority worlds, we also explore signifi...
This book focuses on family meanings through a range of different approaches, including readings ... more This book focuses on family meanings through a range of different approaches, including readings by researchers in the field of family studies with explanations, activities and further questions provided to build on and link together what these writers have said.
While there is a significant interdisciplinary and international literature available on death, d... more While there is a significant interdisciplinary and international literature available on death, dying and bereavement, literature addressing responses to death is dominated by assumptions about individuality, framing ‘bereavement’ and ‘grief’ in terms of the inner psychic life of the individual. Scholarly literature tells us little about how the continuing aftermath of death is experienced in the everyday, relational lives of the living. Inspired by research from Majority Worlds, we consider literature that might enable a more ‘relational’ sociological approach, and explore what that might involve. We set out the potential for family sociology to provide an intrinsically (if variable) relational lens on the aftermath of death, along with examples of radical relational theorising more generally. We argue for a reframing and broadening of the dominant ‘bereavement studies’ of Minority Worlds towards a much-needed paradigm shift in understanding the continuing aftermath of death in the...
This study provides the first in-depth understanding of responses to death, care and family relat... more This study provides the first in-depth understanding of responses to death, care and family relations in an urban West African context. The loss of a close adult relative is a significant life transition that almost everyone experiences at some point in the lifecourse and which may have a range of material, social and emotional consequences for children and families. The research aimed to investigate the material and emotional significance of a death of a close adult relative for family members of different genders and generations in urban Senegal. It aimed to explore how the death of a close relative impacts on identities, caring relations and responsibilities among families of varying socio-economic status and diverse ethnicities (focusing on the three largest ethnic groups, Wolof, Hal Pulaaren and Serer) in two cities.
This study provides the first in-depth understanding of responses to death, care and family relat... more This study provides the first in-depth understanding of responses to death, care and family relations in an urban West African context. The loss of a close adult relative is a significant life transition that almost everyone experiences at some point in the lifecourse and which may have a range of material, social and emotional consequences for children and families. The research aimed to investigate the material and emotional significance of a death of a close adult relative for family members of different genders and generations in urban Senegal. It aimed to explore how the death of a close relative impacts on identities, caring relations and responsibilities among families of varying socio-economic status and diverse ethnicities (focusing on the three largest ethnic groups, Wolof, Hal Pulaaren and Serer) in two cities.
The concept of 'caringscapes' (McKie el al, 2002; Bowlby, 2012) is helpful in analysing t... more The concept of 'caringscapes' (McKie el al, 2002; Bowlby, 2012) is helpful in analysing time-space practices of informal care, including practical activities of caring as well as the feelings and subjective positions of different actors involved in caring pathways across different temporal and spatial contexts. In this paper, we explore the caringscapes of family members who have experienced the death of a relative in urban Senegal from a gendered and intergenerational perspective. We draw on our initial analyses of in-depth interviews with two generations of family members (29 adults and 30 young people aged 12-30) living in two cities (Dakar and Kaolack) in Senegal, as part of a research project funded by the Leverhulme Trust. Interviews were also conducted with 20 key informants, comprising local and religious leaders, government and NGO representatives, in addition to four focus groups with groups of women and young people in each urban location. We explore the ways that emotional, practical and material time-space practices of care that adults, young people and community members engage in following the death of a relative are embedded in gendered, inter- and intra-generational relations and provide some initial insights into religious, ethnic and place-based differences.Peer reviewe
Despite calls for cross-cultural research, Minority world perspectives still dominate death and b... more Despite calls for cross-cultural research, Minority world perspectives still dominate death and bereavement studies, emphasizing individualized emotions and neglecting contextual diversities. In research concerned with contemporary African societies, on the other hand, death and loss are generally subsumed within concerns about AIDS or poverty, with little attention paid to the emotional and personal significance of a death. Here, we draw on interactionist sociology to present major themes from a qualitative study of family deaths in urban Senegal, theoretically framed through the duality of meanings-in-context. Such themes included family and community as support and motivation; religious beliefs and practices as frameworks for solace and (regulatory) meaning; and material circumstances as these are intrinsically bound up with emotions. Although we identify the experience of (embodied, emotional) pain as a common response across Minority and Majority worlds, we also explore signifi...
This book focuses on family meanings through a range of different approaches, including readings ... more This book focuses on family meanings through a range of different approaches, including readings by researchers in the field of family studies with explanations, activities and further questions provided to build on and link together what these writers have said.
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