NEWS & EVENTS

Kin Matters Reading Group

The group discussed the penultimate manuscript of Kin Matters: Relational Beings in the Fragile Sciences (formerly Relational Beings: Kin Matters in the Fragile Sciences), Prof. Rob Wilson's forthcoming monograph from Oxford University Press (late 2025). These discussions, which took place weekly in a hybrid format from December 2024 to January 2025, informed final, post-review revisions, including the title.
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Kin Matters examines three related themes in the philosophy of anthropology concerning kin matters: the nature of relations, incest and its avoidance, and the study of kinship in cultural anthropology.

 Read a chapter-by-chapter overview here.

MemoriEs

MemoriEs was an interdisciplinary online event (November 20-22, 2024) for Spanish-speaking researchers, doctoral candidates, and undergraduates exploring current issues in the philosophy of memory. Participants from diverse fields (philosophy, psychology, anthropology, historical memory) engaged in rich discussions, believing that multilingual academic discourse promoted epistemic justice, decolonization, and amplified Global South voices.
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https://guerrerovelazquez.wixsite.com/memories

​Read about the experience of our KKIM team member and organizer of MemoriEs, Alberto Guerrero-Velázquez, in a bilingual post here: ​https://thememorypalacephil.substack.com/p/memories-philosophy-of-memory-in

PSA 2024

Two KKIM team members presented at the Philosophy of Science Association meeting in New Orleans (November 14-17, 2024). Project coordinator Dr. Lucia C. Neco presented "Beyond Dichotomies: Embracing an Integrated Approach to Social Relationships," which was accepted for publication in a special issue of Philosophy of Science. Prof. Rob Wilson, the project lead, presented "Biologically-Innocent Kinship," based on one of the chapters of his forthcoming book, Kin Matters (Oxford University Press).
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Full program here: https://site.pheedloop.com/event/psa24/home

A-PAW 2024

The Australasian Philosophy of Anthropology Workshop explored the intersection of philosophy and anthropology. By fostering interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary dialogue, our primary objective was to stimulate discussions on the conceptual and methodological intricacies within this intersection. Held at UWA, and virtually, A-PAW took place from July 3rd to 5th, 2024. Over the three-day hybrid workshop, we welcomed a diverse group of 29 presenters, including keynote speakers and oral presenters. Participants represented all continents except Antarctica. 
​https://philosophyofanthropology.square.site/

Philosophy of Anthropology Study Group

This study group provided an introduction to the critical issues within this exciting and unexplored area. We organized two hybrid meeting series: one in November/December 2023 focusing on the concept of kinship in anthropology, and another in January/February 2024 that delved into recent literature on animism, multispecies kinship, kinship politics, and issues within anthropology. Feel free to send an email to [email protected] to access the readings from the meetings. 

Thinking Together Workshop

In October/November 2023, we participated and sponsored a 3-day interdisciplinary workshop on collective memory and collective knowledge organized by our own Alberto Guerrero-Velasquéz and Dr. Anne Schekenbecker from Murdoch University. The workshop proved to be highly rewarding, and we thoroughly enjoyed the fruitful discussions. Rob and Alberto delivered long talks, while Jorge and Lucia presented flash talks.
More info about the event here: ​thinkingtogether.au

KKiM Seminars with Dr. Kochan

In August 2023, we organized a 5-week seminar with Dr. Jeff Kochan, a visiting research fellow of the Keeping Kinship in Mind project. Dr. Kochan is currently an Associated Fellow of the Zukunftskolleg, an institute of advanced studies at the University of Konstanz. Jeff’s research combines History and Philosophy of Science with Sociology of Scientific Knowledge, and salts this with a bit of existential phenomenology.

ISHPSSB 2023

We organized a Diverse Format Session called “Keeping Kinship in Mind” at The International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB) that occured between 9 and 15 of July 2023 in Toronto, Canada. Two members of our team were there in person, Rob and Lucia, and two presented online, Jorge and Alberto.

Philosophy and STS Workshop with Dr. Ludwig​

In May 2023, we organized a Philosophy and STS Workshop on Transdisciplinarity and Community-based Philosophical Inquiry with Dr. David Ludwig. associate professor in the Knowledge, Technology, and Innovation Group of Wageningen University and the PI of the Global Epistemologies and Ontologies (GEOS) Project which explores different modes of knowledge production and their relations to livelihoods and social realities.

Undergraduate Research Assistants 2023

Amy Alexander (not pictured): Examining the development of feminist thought in relation to kinship and its response to reproductive technologies from the 1950s to the present day.
Emma Hughes: Developing an understanding of Indigenous kinship systems and 'skin names', and exploring how these systems shape generational bonds.
Akshata Jois: Exploring the biases present in our legal systems towards the nuclear family and how this bias restricts the formation of non-nuclear families.
Lara Cooper: Searching for universal meaning in kinship, and investigating how adoption and 'chosen' kinship challenge and enrich the traditional view of kinship based on biological connections.

Undergraduate Research Assistants 2023 -  Presentation and Q&A

In May 2023, our four Summer Undergraduate Research Assistants presented their research projects on kinship at UWA. These students had worked closely with Professor Rob Wilson, the Principal Investigator of the 'Keep Kinship in Mind' project, to explore the concept of kinship and gain experience in philosophical research at an undergraduate level. The presentations were followed by a Q&A session during which attendees could ask questions about both the research projects and the Summer Undergraduate Research Assistantship program to the presenters and Professor Wilson.

Writing Retreat 2023

In February 2023, the KKIM Perth team (Lucia, Jorge, Alberto, and Rob) held a writing retreat in beautiful Denmark, Western Australia.