Power, Intimacy and the State: Mixed Families in Europe and Beyond
Historically, mixed couples and people of mixed descent have been seen as a problem, in popular culture as well as in academic literature. This conference addresses among other the question how we may gain a fuller understanding of the lived experiences of mixed couples, power, and intimacy, without pathologizing and dehumanizing them. It approaches these questions from international comparative perspectives.
Background
Historically, ‘ethnically’ and ‘racially’ mixed relationships were described as dominated by power imbalances and as devoid of love. This perspective was brought to bear upon relationships and marriages in colonial times and in times of slavery. Even today, within the context of global migration, mixed couples are often perceived in negative terms, e.g. in discourses on ‘mail order brides’ (marriages between white men and migrant women) or ‘beznez marriages’ (marriages between white women and migrant men).
There is no denying that mixed couples and relations are fraught with power inequalities as they developed in the context of historical and modern-day global inequalities, colonialism, post-colonialism, slavery and racialised hierarchies. However, issues concerning the entanglement of power and privilege with intimate relationships are much more complex than they are often envisioned to be. Since the 1980s, scholars of ‘mixture’ and ‘mixedness’, including critical race and critical mixed race studies, have been questioning this pathologisation of mixed couples and mixed descent. They have called for more nuanced approaches to the lived experiences of mixed couples and persons of mixed descent, that should help us strike a proper balance between an overly negative view on the one hand and an unwarranted romanticised view on the other, which regards mixed relationships and mixed heritage as a means for creating a boundary-less and race-less world.
Hence, this conference addresses questions such as: how we may gain a fuller understanding of the lived experiences of mixed couples, power, and intimacy, without pathologizing and dehumanizing them? This conference aims to approach these questions from international comparative perspectives. How can a balanced view be achieved in the European context, where mixed couples are mostly studied with respect to the contradictory imperative of cultural assimilation on the one hand and respect for cultural difference on the other? And what about other continents such as Africa or Asia?
Also read
-
05 Sep 06 Sep09:00 - 17:30
IP & Competition in an era of AI and Data: Assessing global trends from a comparative & interdisciplinary lens
We encourage participants to submit abstracts dealing with and related to the IP & competition law issues from an inter-disciplinary perspective.
-
15 Sep 17 Dec12:00
TEGL CONFERENCE
The Globalization and Law Network invites you to the TEGL Annual Conference. The conference is aimed at scholars, practitioners, and experts wanting to contribute to an engaging exploration of the intricate relationship between law and uncertainty. In an era marked by unprecedented global challenges...
-
25 Sep 27 Sep
The Right to Social Security: a new dawn!
The Conference "The Right to Social Security: a new dawn!" brings together the MoveS seminar on EU Fundamental Rights for cross-border workers, Prof. Vonk's inaugural lecture, and the annual EISS conference on Contemporary Challenges for the Fundamental Right of Social Security.