Forum, How Aunts and Uncles Sustain Family and Community Life
Aunts and uncles could be called the “forgotten” kin because we tend to prioritize parents and grandparents when we think of family relationships.
Patty Sotirin, an emerita professor of communication and research professor at Michigan Technological University, will discuss how most of us have been shaped through our relationships with our own aunts and uncles. Many of us are, ourselves, an aunt or uncle in an extended family relationship, she points out. Some have “fictive” kin—an aunt or uncle who has been named as such based on a close family friendship. And there are also “chosen” kin, people we name as kin based on close personal relationships like mentors or life guides.
Sotirin will explore the many roles of an aunt or uncle and the ongoing importance of extended kinship connections. Participants will be invited to share their own experiences of what makes aunts and uncles dear.
Sotirin now resides in La Crosse, Wisconsin where she indulges her dog and her passion for feminist scholarship.