The purpose of the conference is to establish the dominant developments of kinship practices between 1300 and 1900. A mainstream historical idea assumes that the importance of kinship was in steady decline from the middle ages onwards. Recent research, however, points to different and even opposite trends – did the European society become ‘kinship hot’ during the modern era?

The conference will approach the question by bringing together leading scholars of the field. Our aim is to strengthen the dialogue between national research traditions, and younger scholars and PhD students are particularly welcome to participate. The cooperation on the problem of long term development also aims at moving kinship issues, the importance of which is still largely underestimated, to the core of current historical debates.

The conference takes place in scenic surroundings in southern Switzerland and includes a variety of forms of presentation. Non invited participants may give a short presentation of their research in the open session. The organisers are David Sabean (University of California, Los Angeles), Simon Teuscher (University of California, Los Angeles / Swiss National Science Foundation) and Jon Mathieu (Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano)

Conference languages: English, French, Italian and German.

For information and registration see: www.isalp.unisi.ch/eng/kongresse/kinship.htm or adress yourself in French, Italian or in another language to: Università della Svizzera italiana, Istituto di Storia delle Alpi, Via Lambertenghi 10, CH-6900 Lugano, Phone: 0041 91 912 47 05, Fax: 0041 91 912 47 40, Mail: admin@isalp.unisi.ch