Storia D'italia Vol. 42

Though a seemingly stable concept in ethnological work, "family" as a lived reality took and takes on innumerable forms shaped by economic pressures, mobility and attendant social transformations, and biotechnical interventions. The case studies in this special issue focus on the ways in which social actors seek to concretize as well as control what family could or should be. While (bio-)technological innovation proves vital to fulfill traditional imaginaries of a nuclear family, communication technology is a key to keep transnationally situated families in contact.