Reflections of care in the concept of stellar-family
This project is my contribution as a PhD-student to the larger project: “Intergenerational care in Sweden. A study of relationships, commitments, and practices of care in everyday family life”.
My research question is How do people do intergenerational care between generations in new and transformed so-called stellar-families? For the dissertation I will use collective memory work as a method to understand practices of care and intimacy (as well as neglect and distance) in relationship surrounded by “queer temporality” (Halberstam 2005). By this I mean relationships in re-shaped families not following the normative life scripts nor the normative script of kinship. Such as step-parent/ step-child and other kind of relations who do not have birth as a starting point but became important at a later date. Relations that might have been there for a period of time are now finished, paused or is still an ongoing relation. The participants in the study will be (step) grandchildren, parents and grandparents of different sexes, divided in age specific groups. The youngest children will be asked to draw their memories by a special scheme.
Previously I used CMW in teaching situations with youth and with groups in social movements. When it comes to this project the departure of the CMW will be a step-relation/bonus-relation, from a family of choice or of an unchosen. Thus, we perform CMW with two different themes: one happy moment and one of neglect.
Addendum
I want to take the opportunity to collegial elaboration on the reflexion of using collective memory work with children. Sara Eldén invented a method called “draw your day” to use in interviews with children. I want to use that drawing method as a tool for the CMW with children, and therefore try the method with the participants at the symposium.