What is a Family?
Law and Regulation in a Transdisciplinary Context
Bristol University Press
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 1. March 2026
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-5292-4633-9 (ISBN)
Description
How families are formed, lived and understood has shifted dramatically-yet legal frameworks often still reflect outdated norms. This collection brings together a diverse team of international contributors to explore what a family is through a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including law, psychology, economics, family science and history, inviting transdisciplinary reflections on family regulation.
By examining how legal systems respond to, resist, or incorporate diverse family forms, from non-marital partnerships to trans families, the book reveals the tensions between lived realities and legal recognition. Offering fresh insight into how regulation shapes and is shaped by evolving family life, this book is essential for scholars interested in family law, social policy and the changing dynamics of kinship.
By examining how legal systems respond to, resist, or incorporate diverse family forms, from non-marital partnerships to trans families, the book reveals the tensions between lived realities and legal recognition. Offering fresh insight into how regulation shapes and is shaped by evolving family life, this book is essential for scholars interested in family law, social policy and the changing dynamics of kinship.
More details
Series
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Bristol
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Not illustrated
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-5292-4633-9 (9781529246339)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Alice Margaria | Claire Fenton-Glynn
What Is a Family?
Law and Regulation in a Transdisciplinary Context
Book
03/2026
1st Edition
Bristol University Press
€45.50
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
What is a Family?
Law and Regulation in a Transdisciplinary Context
E-Book
03/2026
1st Edition
Bristol University Press
€41.99
Available for download
Persons
Alice Margaria is an Assistant Professor in Law and Co-Director of the Interdisciplinary Research Program Human Reproduction Reloaded at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Claire Fenton-Glynn is a Professor of Law at the University of Monash, Australia.
Claire Fenton-Glynn is a Professor of Law at the University of Monash, Australia.
Content
Foreword - Martha Albertson Fineman
1. Introduction - Claire Fenton-Glynn and Alice Margaria
Part 1: Unsettling Traditional Paradigms
2. What Is a Family? A Feminist Family Science Perspective - Katherine R Allen
3. The Legal Family - Alan Brown
4. The Family and Its Disruption by Transgender Families - a Study of the Cases 'Nigel and Beth' and 'Christina and Kimberly' - Claire Jenkins
Part 2: Developing Regulation of Adult Relationships
5. Marriage and Family Formation at the Intersection of Law and History - Mary Jo Maynes
6. What Is a 'European Family'? - Jens M Scherpe
7. Why Should the State Recognize Non-Conjugal Unions? An Analysis of the Debate Around Their Legal Recognition - Nausica Palazzo and Daniel Cardoso
Part 3: Empirical Approaches to Defining Families
8. What Is a Family? A Developmental Psychology Perspective - Kate Ellis-Davies and Sarah Foley
9. A Feminist Economist's Perspective on Marriage Laws - Shoshana Grossbard
10. Family Ideals Across Cultures - Arnstein Aassve, Alicia Adsera, Paul Y. Chang, Letizia Mencarini, Chen Peng, Samuel Plach, James M. Raymo, Senhu Wang, and Wei-Jun Jean Yeung
Part 4: Rethinking the Family of Law
11. The Legal Family as a Child Development Incubator - Noam Peleg
12. From Folkhemmet to Post-Welfare Sweden: Rethinking Care and Dependency in a Neoliberal Context - Helena Moradi
13. Loneliness and Care: Rethinking the Role of Family Law - Jonathan Herring
1. Introduction - Claire Fenton-Glynn and Alice Margaria
Part 1: Unsettling Traditional Paradigms
2. What Is a Family? A Feminist Family Science Perspective - Katherine R Allen
3. The Legal Family - Alan Brown
4. The Family and Its Disruption by Transgender Families - a Study of the Cases 'Nigel and Beth' and 'Christina and Kimberly' - Claire Jenkins
Part 2: Developing Regulation of Adult Relationships
5. Marriage and Family Formation at the Intersection of Law and History - Mary Jo Maynes
6. What Is a 'European Family'? - Jens M Scherpe
7. Why Should the State Recognize Non-Conjugal Unions? An Analysis of the Debate Around Their Legal Recognition - Nausica Palazzo and Daniel Cardoso
Part 3: Empirical Approaches to Defining Families
8. What Is a Family? A Developmental Psychology Perspective - Kate Ellis-Davies and Sarah Foley
9. A Feminist Economist's Perspective on Marriage Laws - Shoshana Grossbard
10. Family Ideals Across Cultures - Arnstein Aassve, Alicia Adsera, Paul Y. Chang, Letizia Mencarini, Chen Peng, Samuel Plach, James M. Raymo, Senhu Wang, and Wei-Jun Jean Yeung
Part 4: Rethinking the Family of Law
11. The Legal Family as a Child Development Incubator - Noam Peleg
12. From Folkhemmet to Post-Welfare Sweden: Rethinking Care and Dependency in a Neoliberal Context - Helena Moradi
13. Loneliness and Care: Rethinking the Role of Family Law - Jonathan Herring