14.09.2022H2R Summer School

URPP H2R Summer School (September 14-16, 2022):

Kinship Reloaded. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human Reproduction

The rapidly changing medical technologies on human reproduction bring forth a variety of complex ethical and legal questions. In light of this, the University Research Priority Program “Human Reproduction Reloaded” (H2R) is dedicated to exploring the wide-ranging societal impact and legal challenges emerging with such technologies.

The H2R Summer School 2022, appropriately titled “Kinship Reloaded. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human Reproduction”, will thus delve further into notions of kinship, parenthood and family within the context of reproductive medicine. The five plenary speakers Prof. Jeanette Edwards, Prof. David Archard, Prof. Heike Trappe, Prof. Beate Ditzen and Prof. Michelle Cottier will approach this topic from their respective fields of Social Anthropology, Law, Gender Studies, Sociology, Ethics and Medical Psychology. These interdisciplinary perspectives will investigate how our contemporary medical technologies of human reproduction, such as assisted reproductive technologies (ART), affect discourses and practices on kinship. Crucially, these technologies challenge normative conceptions of family and necessitate important and pressing discussions for legislators and society as a whole.

Our speakers:

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Ulrike Ehlert: “Family Relations. An Introduction to the Topics of the Summer School”

Prof. Ulrike Ehlert is head of the Institute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the University of Zurich. Since 2000 she manages the departments psychotherapy service for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Behavioral Medicine (AVV) and is also head of the research group “Behavioral Neurobiology” at the Zentrum für Neurowissenschaften Zürich (ZNZ). Ehlert specializes in behavioral medicine, psychobiology, stress-related diseases and psychoneuroendocrinology. Further information

Prof. Jeanette Edwards: “Making and Breaking Kinship” (Keynote), Abstract (DOCX, 13 KB)

Prof. Jeanette Edwards is Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester and is currently working as Principal Investigator on an ESRC funded project on Brexit. She was member and chair of two Nuffield Councils on Bioethics, one on donor conception and disclosure and the other on cosmetic procedures. Her research typically tackles issues of class, gender, biotechnology and kinship. Edwards’ numerous publications include titles such as “Donor Conception and (Dis)closure in the UK: Siblingship, Friendship and Kinship” (2015), “Technologized Images, Technologized Bodies” (2010) and most recently “Provincializing the Clitoris” (2020). Further information

Prof. David Archard: “The Right to Parent and Reproductive Possibilities”

Prof. David Archard is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Queen’s University Belfast and Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. He has published a wide variety of works on topics such as the ethics of procreation and parenthood, the moral and political status of children and sexual consent. As a Member and Deputy Chair of the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority he has played a prominent role in public policy and continues to do so in his current position as Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. Further information

Prof. Dr. Heike Trappe: “A Sociological View on Medically Assisted Reproduction From a German Perspective”

Prof. Heike Trappe is a Professor in Sociology at the University of Rostock. Her research interests includes the gender-specific division of labor in partnership and family, life course, family and labor market research, gender inequality and assisted reproduction. She has published a wide array of works covering topics such as the (in)accessibility of assisted reproduction, the perceived fairness of gendered division of labor and paternity leave. In addition to her research, Trappe teaches courses on family demographics, social injustice and gender. Further information

Prof. Dr. phil. Beate Ditzen: “Attachment as a Mediating Mechanism in the Intergenerational Transmission of Norms, Values, and Biopsychological Variables”

Prof. Beate Ditzen is head of the institute for Medical Psychology at Heidelberg University Hospital and manages research projects on social neuroendocrinology and the psychobiology of stress. Her research interests revolve around social and couple interaction, the hormone oxytocin and psychobiological stress responses, the psychosocial aspects of gynecological disorders as well as the neurobiological mechanisms of social attachments and health. Currently, Ditzen is involved in an interdisciplinary project on the transformation of parenthood. Further information

Prof. Michelle Cottier: “Gendered Normativities: The Legal Regulation of Reproductive Medicine and Family Relations”

Prof. Michelle Cottier is Ordinary Professor of Civil Law at the University of Geneva and Director of the Centre for Legislative Studies, Techniques and Evaluation (CETEL) since 2019. Her research focuses on personal and family law, children’s rights, sociology of law and gender perspectives in law. Cottier’s most recent publications revolve around parenthood beyond heteronormativity and gender binaries as well as the negotiation of divorce agreements and gender (in)equality in Switzerland. Further information