Scribner Seminar Program
Course Description

Modern Family: The Science and Social Experiences of Human Familial Bonds

Instructor(s): Robin Nelson, Anthropology

Who is your family? Who counts as family and who does not? This course will serve as a multi-disciplinary introduction to studies of familial relationships. Using texts, articles, films, and audio recordings students examine how ideas about the family have shifted over time and how they vary in different communities around the world. Throughout the course we will explore what makes a family, what challenges families face that are from other kinds of social relationships, and the ways that we privilege family in various political and social contexts.