Relational understandings of life, relationships and moments that matter (Kaisa Kuurne and Sara Eldén)
| Dates: | 21 April 2026 |
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| Times: | 13:00 - 15:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Social Sciences |
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| How much: | Free |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, External researchers, Adults, Current University students |
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| Speaker: | Sara Eldén, Kaisa Kuurne |
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Light refreshments will be available from 1pm
Kaisa Kuurne (University of Turku, Finland) and Sara Eldén (Malmö University, Sweden)
In this joint Morgan Centre seminar, we consider how relational life becomes visible through both disruption and continuity. We reflect on two pathways through which relations across the lifetime can be understood. One path begins in rupture – those disruptive moments when life suddenly overflows the forms and scripts meant to contain it (Simmel 2010). The other path leads us toward quieter constellations of connection: the significant relations that linger in the background but still shape our identities and everyday orientations (Smart 2007). Together, these perspectives invite us to trace the visible and invisible threads of relational life (Mason 2018) – those that erupt, and those that endure.
This seminar brings together two papers that explore these twinned conceptual themes through our empirical research: Kaisa’s work on disruptive life events and Sara’s research on sibling relationships in midlife.
- Kaisa Kuurne: Understanding Life as Eventful – Disruptive Events, the Frailty of Life and the Making of Belonging
- Sara Eldén: “I trigger something in her – but I don’t know what it is” – Ineffable Bonds and Sibling Dynamics in Midlife
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Travel and Contact Information
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5.205
University Place
Manchester
