Anthropological perspectives on parenthood with Erdmute Alber

In her publications, she explores the ways in which political processes create kinship and, conversely, how changes in kinship influence social change and political processes. Her research has taken her to various countries on the African continent, as well as to the Latin American Andean region. Erdmute Alber has published extensively, including the book ‘soziale Elternschaft im Wandel’ published in German by Dietrich Reimer Verlag in 2010, as well as the book ‘Verwandtschaft heute’.

Participants

Erdmute Alber (University of Bayreuth)

‘In my lecture, I would like to show that parenthood is an underestimated topic in social anthropology. I will take you on a journey through approaches from social anthropology on the topic. A perspective on parenthood makes it possible to think fundamentally about how societies reproduce themselves, organise the future and how claims, goods and affiliations are passed on intergenerationally both socially and in specific families. I begin by describing a conversation in which a young man from West Africa explains some of his plans for the future and show that the topic of parenthood permeates the entire conversation. On this basis, I arrive at various approaches and, building on this, at a definition of parenthood that goes beyond the nuclear family model and includes the state as an actor. Furthermore, I deal with ideas of parenthood that deviate from the Western model.’

The lecture is part of the interdisciplinary lecture series ‘Beziehungsweise Familie’, which marks the start of the Humboldt Forum's 2025-26 annual programme of the same name.

The lecture series is being organised as part of a cooperation between the Humboldt Forum's network of institutions.

Programme management of the cross-institutional cluster: Dr Laura Goldenbaum

- Free Admission
- Language: German
- Ground Floor, Hall 3
- Part of: Lecture series “Family Matters”