Family in Focus

The course Family in Focus is about family - what it is, what it looks like - a few decades into the 21st century. The course discusses the relationship between family and the social context within which it exists. Family from a Swedish perspective will be the starting point for a discussion of family from an international perspective, with a slight focus on North America and Europe. Family is discussed as a part of the society within which it exists. For this reason, family is defined broadly to include different forms of family. Considerable attention is given to investigating the relationship between family and social context. This is done through the discussion of a number of themes such as: demographic trends, labor market, paid and unpaid work, the role of gender, the organization of families' everyday lives. Family and its relationship to these themes illuminated from different theoretical perspectives, empirical research and from both micro and macro perspectives.