Imagining Kin

A CEEL conference, March 25-26, 2005, at the University of Michigan. All Conference sessions will be held in the Hussey Room of the Michigan League.

Family -- why is it so important to us? "Imagining Kin" is about understanding the ties that bind, the hold they possess over everyday life. We have assembled a group of leading international scholars all of whom share an appreciation for the moral significance and practical consequence of being related. Conference sessions will focus on the importance of family all over the world and in the U.S. By comparing different ways of imagining kin, our discussions will explore unique ways of understanding "family" alongside the kinds of relationships that make us human.

Conference Participants

Keynote Speaker, Professor Janet Carsten, University of Edinburgh
Professor Sandra Bamford, University of Toronto
Professor Gillian Feeley-Harnik, University of Michigan
Professor Janet Hart, University of Michigan
Professor Ivan Karp, Emory University
Professor Stuart Kirsch, University of Michigan
Professor Corinne Kratz, School of American Research, Emory University, University of Kenya
Professor Don Kulick, New York University
Professor Susan McKinnon, University of Virginia
Professor Gisli Palsson, University of Iceland
Professor Pete Richardson, University of Michigan
Professor Gayle Rubin, University of Michigan
Professor Marshall Sahlins, University of Chicago
Professor Steven Sangren, Cornell University
Professor Tom Trautmann, University of Michigan
Professor Carol Vance, Columbia University
Dr. Brian Hoey, University of Michigan
Jessaca Leinaweaver, Doctoral Student, University of Michigan
Britt Halvorson, Doctoral Student, University of Michigan
Sallie Han, Doctoral Student, University of Michigan
Josh Reno, Doctoral Student, University of Michigan

Schedule of Events

Imagining Kin will begin with an inaugural event in honor of the thirtieth anniversary of Gayle Rubin's paper 'The Traffic in Women: Notes on the "Political Economy" of Sex' - a classic text in anthropology, feminist, and gay and lesbian theory.

"The Traffic in Women: Thirty Years Later" will begin at noon on Friday, March 25 and will continue to 4pm. It will include papers by Don Kulick and Carol Vance, followed by commentary from Gayle Rubin and Marshall Sahlins. After an hour break for an early dinner, Janet Carsten will deliver the keynote address at 5pm. The conference will resume at 8am on Saturday, March 26th with three panels and several breaks in between. The conference will end with a closing statement from Ivan Karp on Saturday evening.

Session Schedule

Friday, 3/25
12-4pm
Inaugural Event: "the Traffic in Women: Thirty Years Later"
Carol Vance (Columbia University), Don Kulick (New York University)
Marshall Sahlins (Univesity of Chicago), Gayle Rubin (University of Michigan)

5-6pm
Keynote Address
Janet Carsten (University of Edinburgh)

Saturday, 3/26
9-11am
"Generating Persons in Practice"
Sallie Han (University of Michigan)
Jessaca Leinaweaver (University of Michigan)
Steven Sangren (Cornell University)
discussant - Janet Hart (University of Michigan)

11-1pm
Lunch, free and open to the public

1-3:30pm
"Kin-Work in Progress: Tensions and Implications"
Britt Halvorson (University of Michigan)
Josh Reno (University of Michigan)
Corinne Kratz (Emory University)
Pete Richardson (University of Michigan)
discussant - Gillian Feeley-Harnik (University of Michigan)

4:30-6:30pm
"Moral and Political Dimensions of Genealogical Reckoning"
Sandra Bamford (University of Toronto)
Gisli Palsson (University of Iceland)
Susan McKinnon (University of Virginia)
Discussant - Tom Trautmann (University of Michigan)

6:30-7:30pm
Closing Statement
Ivan Karp (Emory University)