SECOND INTERDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCE OF THE

EUROPEAN NETWORK ON FAMILY CONFLICT AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Co-sponsored by the Institute of Women and Society, Hannover, and the Department of Education and Women’s Studies, University of Osnabrück

Purpose of this meeting:

(1) facilitate the interdisciplinary exchange of new research on family conflict and domestic violence in different European countries including conceptual frameworks, empirical projects, and policy-oriented approaches;

(2) explore crossdisciplinary research questions calling for European collaboration and generate ideas for future meetings, joint publications, and comparative research;

(3) lay the groundwork for continuing interdisciplinary European cooperation by developing pragmatic suggestions for how to tap into and share the oftentimes unavailable theoretical and empirical knowledge that is generated in different regions and disciplines.

Participants:

The conference will host over thirty participants from more than twelve European countries. All participants are experts in the social sciences and related fields who are interested in the development of an interdisciplinary network to promote research and application in the field of family conflict and domestic violence.

Conference Format:

The conference will open with overviews of new and recent European research on family conflict and domestic violence. These overviews will be based on the findings of an informal, pre-conference survey among those colleagues who have signaled interest in this meeting. The remainder of the meeting will be used for group discussions that are organized roughly around three major topics, which network members had suggested after the Canada meeting. These topics are: The relationship between conflict and violence (Monday afternoon); Context and interpretation: The role of culture, law, and religion in interpreting conflict and violence (all day Tuesday); Conflict, violence, and identity (Wednesday morning). The last afternoon (Wednesday) will be used to summarize conference outcomes and plan the next meeting. Throughout the program there will be ample time for discussion.

With this format we hope to facilitate exchange and discussion across language and disciplinary barriers. Conference language will be English. We encourage all multi-lingual participants to pool their linguistic expertise for interpreting whenever necessary. The meeting will be audiotaped. We are planning conference proceedings in English and German.

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM

18:00 Welcome and Reception; Overview of the conference

Monday, August 25, 1997

8:00-9:30 Breakfast

REGIONAL OVERVIEWS

9:30-10:30 Conflict and violence in the family: Crossdisciplinary issues            Renate Klein

10:30-11:00 Coffee Break

11:00-11:45 European perspectives - Regional overview I:

Commentary by Didier Le Gall

11:45-12:30 European perspectives - Regional overview II:

Commentary by Helena Hurme and Eva Lundgren

12:30-14:30 Lunch Break

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE

14:30-16:00 Violence against children in Eastern Europe

Opening statements by Anna Piekarska

16:00-16:30 Coffee Break

16:30-17:15 Violence against women in Eastern Europe

Opening statements by Elena Penteleiciuc

17:15-18:30 Conceptual and methodological questions in research on conflict and violence

Opening statements by Frank Fincham

18:30 Dinner

8:00-9:00 Breakfast

CONTEXT AND INTERPRETATIONS:

THE ROLE OF CULTURE, LAW, AND RELIGION IN UNDERSTANDING

CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE

9:00-10:30 Sociocultural Traditions

Opening statements by Vana Papalois

10:30-11:00 Coffee Break

11:00-12:30 Domestic violence in court: Discursive powers of law and social sciences in debate

Opening statements by Renée Römkens

12:30-14:30 Lunch Break

14:30-16:00 Legal and Religious Contexts

Opening statements by Elena Penteleiciuc and Eva Lundgren

16:00-16:30 Coffee Break

16:30-18:00 Social networks and informal third parties

Opening statements by Renate Klein

18:30 Dinner

8:00-9:00 Breakfast

CONFLICT, VIOLENCE, AND IDENTITY

9:00-10:30 Violence and gender identity: Anthropological perspectives

Opening statements by Bo Wagner Sørensen

10:30-11:00 Coffee Break

11:00-12:30 Gender stereotypes, self-concept, and relationship violence

Opening statements by Anna Kwiatkowska

12:30-14:00 Lunch Break

CHALLENGES TO A EUROPEAN NETWORK

14:00-15:30 Emerging Research Questions

Facilitator: Frank Fincham

[Eric Bellamy and Didier Le Gall will detail their ideas for a comparative

research project]

15:30-16:00 Coffee Break

16:00-17:30 Future Cooperation

Facilitator: Carol Hagemann-White

17:30-18:00 The Next Meeting

Closing statements by Carol Hagemann-White and Renate Klein

Contacts:

Carol Hagemann-White (programming and local organization), Institut Frau und Gesellschaft, Osnabrück, Germany

e-mail: 100071.2557@COMPUSERVE.COM

Renate Klein (programming), University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA

e-mail: RKLEIN@MAINE.MAINE.EDU, fax: +1.207.581.3120