British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences
Family Matters: An Evolutionary, Economic and Demographic Perspective on how Family Circumstances can Influence Children
Convened by the British Academy and organised as part of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science's 2007 Festival of Science,
hosted by the University of York
14.00 - 18.00, Wednesday, 12 September 2007
This session takes cross-disciplinary look at family structure, and how it influences children. We start with an evolutionary perspective, and then include historical, demographic and economic analyses of how families affect children. What does our life history tell us about the likely family structures in our evolutionary past? How has family size changed in recent history, and why? How do different family structures influence child well-being in the UK today? The session will consist of five talks followed by a discussion with members of the panel.
Speakers
Ruth Mace (Anthropology, University College London)
The evolutionary basis of human family structure: are we communal breeders?
Ian Walker (Economics, University of Warwick)
Do fathers matter?
Simon Szreter (History, University of Cambridge)
Fertility decline in the UK - an historical view
David Lawson (Anthropology, University College London)
Sibling competition in the UK
Kathleen Kiernan (Social Policy, University of York)
Economics, Happiness and Child Well-being
- Registration details and further information are available from the Festival website.
- A map of the University Campus can be downloaded here
- A programme is available from: http://www1.the-ba.net/download/Festivalprogramme2007.pdf