"Doing family" in and through space: towards a multilocal habitus?
(2021) Recherches sociologiques et anthropologiques — Vol. 52, n° 1, p. 25-45 (2021)
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- Authors
Murru, Sarah 
- Abstract
- (en) This article introduces the thematic dossier 'Family Transformations and Residential Mobility' by re-interpreting the notion of habitus in the light of socialisation processes and practices specific to 'doing family' in the context of residential mobility, both within and across national borders. It takes as its starting point the notion of transnational habitus as defined in the field of study of transnational families, and pursues the reflection by building conceptual bridges between this work and the study of multilocality - with a particular interest in families who have set up shared physical custody arrangements after divorce or separation. This work is carried out through three themes that cut across the articles that make up the thematic dossier, and allow to deconstruct the classic conceptualisation of the link between family and space. The first concerns the experience of a multiplicity of frames of reference through which 'doing family' is materialised, and which outlines a way of 'being in the world' specifically linked to a family life marked by multi-refentiality and multilocality. The second deals with the multiplicity and complementarity of the forms of co-presence that underpin the sense of belonging. It stresses the importance of considering the sensory and material dimension of "doing family" and the sharing of common knowledge and experiences in the analysis of the processes that participate in the creation, maintenance and upkeep of a sense of family belonging. It also highlights the skills, dispositions, practices, routines, in short, the ways of being, doing and acting - the habitus - of members of multilocal and transnational families. The third theme deals with the place of power relations in the structuring of both practices and the family's relationship to space. It shows that everyday family practices are constructed through the (re)negotiation of power relations between different individuals, but also involve practices of resistance and new ways of being that question and destabilise the dominant structures organising the 'family' in society. It also addresses the issue of social inequalities and the resources and capitals that, on the one hand, are necessary to 'do family' in the context of residential mobility and, on the other hand, stem from, and are generated by, the socialisation to this way of life. In conclusion, the article proposes to de-compartmentalise work on the family 'on the move' through the notion of 'multilocal habitus', defined as a set of potentially contradictory habits, patterns and dispositions, constructed in a multilocal family context, which allows to navigate between, and to deal with, multiple referential frameworks and to define the contours of the family and the inscription in a family group at a local and global level - 'here', 'there', and 'in between'.
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Citations
Merla, L., Nobels, B., Murru, S., & Theys, C. (2021). “Doing family” in and through space: towards a multilocal habitus? Recherches sociologiques et anthropologiques, 52(1), 25-45. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/106914 (Original work published 2021)