Organised by Nikita Hayden, Katherine Davies, Rachel Harley, and Shawn Whiteman

Following the success of our first interdisciplinary symposium, the Sibling Studies Network held the 2nd Sibling Studies Colloquium in December 2023. The thematic focus of the conference was ‘Why Siblings Matter?'

To read this past colloquium's itinerary, please click here.

Dr Katherine Davies, a senior lecturer in Sociology at the University of Sheffield, discussed her new book published by Manchester University Press in 2023. This book draws upon innovative qualitative data sources to explore the significance of siblings throughout the life course, demonstrating why sociologists should pay attention to siblingship. Focussing on four themes central to the discipline of sociology – self, relationality, imagination and time – the book shows why siblings matter. Grounded in theories of relatedness but spanning theoretical work on generation, life course, emotion, sensory worlds, normativity and identity, Siblings and Sociology explores the importance of siblings in everyday life and how they inform wider social processes: the relational construction of identity, the inculcation of capital, experiences of institutions like schools and the meanings of relatedness. Siblings tap into profound questions about who we are and who we can become. This book shows how the intrigue of siblingship renders them an important lens through which to think about familiar sociological ideas in new ways. 

Sadly, we were unable to record this session due to technical issues. However, click here to read a blog post written by Katherine, which gives an overview of her new book and shows why siblings matter sociologically. 

This was an informal launch meeting for the Sibling Studies Network.  It offered individuals an opportunity to meet one another and share what they wanted from the network.

Click here to read a summary of the event. 

The first Sibling Studies Colloquium had a range of speakers from the humanities and social sciences:

•  Professor Cati Coe (Anthropology, Carleton University) 

Siblings in Elder Care in Ghana: An Example of the Thinning of Kin Relations and Strategies for its Thickening

•  Dr Katherine Davies (Sociology, University of Sheffield) 

Temporal Sibling Relationalities

• Emre Deniz (Education and Psychology, University of York)

 Sibling Relationships of Autistic Adolescents During COVID-19: A Cross-Cultural Qualitative Study Between the UK and Turkey

• Rachel Harley (Medieval Studies, University of York) 

The Lexicon of Later Medieval Siblingship

• Dr Nikita Hayden (Applied Psychology, University of Warwick)

Siblings and Disability

• Professor Shawn Whiteman (Human Development and Family Studies, Utah State University)  

Direct and Indirect Influences of Siblings During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Dr Rachel Moss (History, University of Northampton)

Responding Remarks

Click here to read Dr Rachel Moss' reflections on the symposium