The Reconfiguration of Kin Networks through Separation and Estrangement

Presentation by Bettina Beer, University of Lucerne

Intimate relations, defined by mutual care, trust and love, are fundamental to all human societies and have been widely studied by social anthropologists. These relationships form part of the continuum of social commitment that has gained attention in New Kinship Studies (NKS), focusing on the interactions that create and sustain them, thereby emphasising relatedness through interaction rather than procreative connections. This shift is largely inspired by David Schneider's work, which prioritises the "kinning" of others through interactions that bespeak and demonstrate intimacy. While NKS has focused on the creation and maintenance of intimate relations, our research explores interactions that result in the transformation or termination of such relations, on what we take to be the reasonable assumption that the anthropology of kinship needs to take account of both the procreative relations between people and the sociological trajectories that can sustain or erode intimate relations. We are conducting three empirical studies: estrangement between parents and adult children in Switzerland, marriage dissolution in the Philippines, and bureaucratic separation of parents and their children in Russia. Our research addresses foundational issues for NKS, arguing that procreation as well as caregiving efforts and their effects, are foundational to understanding estrangement processes precisely because sociological profiles cannot "end" kin relations and the networks they set up. Our research aims to show what makes it impossible to "undo" kin relations and trace the ripple effects of attempts to do so on the kin networks. Thus, and to put it plainly, one can, for example, terminate all direct interaction with one's birth-mother, but one cannot, by an act of will, negate the effects of that termination on one's relations with siblings, children and other kin; nor can one negate the effects of state interventions.

Bettina Beer received her PhD in anthropology from the University of Hamburg, in 1995, with a dissertation on German-Philippine Marriages. Interethnic marriages and the migration of Women. She habilitated in 2001 with a project on Body concepts, interethnic relations and theories of racism. She has conducted long-term fieldwork in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, and research on cultural diversity in German-speaking Europe. She is committed to the importance of the connection between research and teaching in all aspects of anthropology.

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