Fall 2024 First-Year Seminar BC1779 section 001

The Family

THE FAMILY

Call Number 00849
Day & Time
Location
MW 1:10pm-2:25pm
113 MILSTEIN CEN
Points 3
Grading Mode Pass/Fail
Approvals Required None
Instructor Caroline D Bowman
Type SEMINAR
Course Description

No matter our particular family histories or relationships, the family plays a central role in shaping each of our individual lives, and as an ideal the family form promises each of us a sphere of care and love. But how well does the family live up to this ideal in practice? And how might the family contribute to propping up social hierarchies along the lines of gender, race, and class? Might we imagine—and even desire—futures beyond the family? This course will consider critical engagements with the family form, spanning from Plato’s early skepticism, to 19th-century socialist utopian visions of the commune, to the rich variety of analyses offered by feminists of the 20th and 21st century. At the end of the class, we’ll consider what science/speculative fiction has to offer in its imagining of alternative possibilities for organizing care. Readings will include political writings, novels, and academic texts drawn from philosophy, sociology, critical race theory, and critical indigenous studies.

 

Web Site Vergil
Department First-Year Seminar Program @Barnard
Enrollment 16 students (16 max) as of 9:06AM Saturday, December 14, 2024
Subject First-Year Seminar
Number BC1779
Section 001
Division Barnard College
Open To Barnard College
Note Barnard 1st Year Students Only
Section key 20243FYSB1779X001