The Family

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.