Families,frontiers and the new imperial history

One of the more recent developments in historiography has been the emergence of 'new imperial history'. The articles within this special edition of the History of the Family offer examples of how some historians have dealt with the histories of both empires and families.     

Power, crime and criminology in the new imperial age

As a consequence of the U.S. pursuit of neo-liberal global hegemony in the post-Soviet era, the language of empire has returned to political discourse and social analysis after an eighty-year absence. Although the pursuit of empire and the exertion of imperial control is deeply and demonstrably injurious to the nations and people subjected to this control, orthodox criminology has given relatively little attention to this emerging world of transnational social injury, choosing instead to continue its traditional focus on private crimes of greed, lust and rage. In this essay I detail how legal formalism, methodological individualism, ameliorative motives, mass-communications and the reward structure of orthodox criminology combine to form a meta-theoretical framework that has kept the criminological gaze averted from injurious actions of transnational structures of power. I then offer an alternative framework for a criminology of empire and other power crimes focused on how intersections among economic, political and cultural processes generate social injuries that are analogous to crimes in their nature and consequences, and that, as a result should become as significant a focus of criminological inquiry as the street crimes that now dominate criminological research and writing. What do we do with our knowledge about the suffering of others, and what does this knowledge do to us? -Stanley Cohen      

Stem cell frontiers: science, ethics and regulation

The isolation of human stem cells and the cloning of "Dolly" in the late 1990s, based on primate and other animal studies in the previous 20 years, created an explosion of interest that continues with daily reports in much of the world's press. The science has progressed steadily but not always smoothly, with promising discoveries in the potency and flexibility of cells derived from embryonic, umbilical cord and adult tissues. The promise of a revolutionary new era in health and medical sciences and systems requires careful scientific method, ethical debate and supportive legal and regulatory frameworks to achieve success. The frontiers of the science are focusing on the regulation of cell lineage choice and the development of designer stem cells for therapeutic cloning; the ethical debate focuses on the special status of the human embryo and the pathways to applications; while legal and regulatory frameworks differ around the world. There is some risk that the promises are overtaking the reality of progress, with the rush for results and premature offering of dubious remedies compromising scientific method and credibility. Stem cells should not be the snake oil of our times, nor should short cuts and short sell promises, fuelled by illusions of fame and fortune, risk the trust of the public in science and medicine.     

Household formation, institutions, and economic development: Evidence from imperial Russia

Household formation patterns have been adduced in recent years by historians and other social scientists to account for the economic development of western Europe. The so-called European Marriage Pattern, which prevailed throughout northwest Europe, is viewed as having been particularly conducive to early industrialisation and economic growth. But to what extent were household formation systems exogenous to the broader economic and social context in which they were located? Evidence from nineteenth-century Russia indicates that family systems were influenced by the same variables that determined the shape of the local economy; they were part of a complex web of institutions and thus cannot be viewed as independent determinants of economic development.     

Families, Foreignness, Migration

Introducing the special issue on ‘Families, Foreignness and Migration. Now and Then’, this essay starts from the observation that in Western Europe migrating with or without one's family in the last century was increasingly shaped by state policies. As a result, migrants' identities and family experiences not only depended, and still depend, on their cultural backgrounds but also on very time-specific politics of foreignness and citizenship. The essay's main argument is that comparing and deconstructing perceptions, policies and practices of ‘family’ and migration help to overcome the limited attention given to age and kin in the study of gender and migration. From an overview of contributions to this interdisciplinary issue, it is clear that deconstructing ‘family’ in migration studies should be developed further along three axes: child migration, the multi-level analysis of family and migration, including societies of origin and migrant organizations, and the comparison of ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ migrants, which contributes to uncovering the relationship between foreignness, gender and age.     

Families,Foreignness, Migration

Introducing the special issue on ‘Families, Foreignness and Migration. Now and Then’, this essay starts from the observation that in Western Europe migrating with or without one's family in the last century was increasingly shaped by state policies. As a result, migrants' identities and family experiences not only depended, and still depend, on their cultural backgrounds but also on very time-specific politics of foreignness and citizenship. The essay's main argument is that comparing and deconstructing perceptions, policies and practices of ‘family’ and migration help to overcome the limited attention given to age and kin in the study of gender and migration. From an overview of contributions to this interdisciplinary issue, it is clear that deconstructing ‘family’ in migration studies should be developed further along three axes: child migration, the multi-level analysis of family and migration, including societies of origin and migrant organizations, and the comparison of ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ migrants, which contributes to uncovering the relationship between foreignness, gender and age.     

Introduction to the Special Issue on Children,Families, and the Law

Law and Human Behavior -     

Cohabitation in imperial Russia: the case of Lithuania

The main object of this article is to reveal the reasons for cohabitation among Catholics in Kovno gubernia, the biggest administrative district in Imperial Russia's province Lithuania, from the nineteenth to the start of the twentieth centuries. The article also seeks to answer the questions: how widespread was cohabitation in Lithuania, and what were society's attitudes towards cohabitation? The research is heavily built on archive sources. The most important group of them used in this article are the so-called files ‘Trials on Depraved Lifestyles’ (‘Дело о блудной жизни’), documents from the Curia of the Samogitian Diocese from 1813–1915.     

Families of Origin,Foster Care Experience,and the Transition to Adulthood

The rising number of young adults transitioning to adulthood from the foster care system has been a focus of prior research. The current study explored foster care youths transitions to adulthood to identify factors that contribute to or inhibit prosocial adult outcomes. Structured data derived from interviews with foster care‐experienced adults and child welfare professionals as well as focus groups with foster care‐experienced adults and foster parents were analyzed using content analysis to examine the transition to adulthood from foster care. Positive or negative life outcomes resulted from two key mechanisms: a) issues related to family of origin (inadequate parenting, abuse); and b) foster care experiences (including a pattern of “drift”). We explore disidentification, a new social psychological concept. Throughout, key players provide policy recommendations for the child welfare system.     

Special Edition: Special Issues on Children,Families, and the Law

Law and Human Behavior -