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Family Relations in Times of Austerity: Reflections from the UK

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Families, Intergenerationality, and Peer Group Relations

Part of the book series: Geographies of Children and Young People ((GCYP,volume 5))

Abstract

This chapter examines the ways in which family relationships and everyday practices may be open to change and contestation in times of austerity. While an extant body of literature explores changing familial relations as a result of social and cultural transformations, there remain pertinent questions concerning how such intimate relationships are impacted by economic upheaval. This issue is particularly timely, given the widespread impacts of austerity policies in the UK and across Europe currently. Drawing on insights from literature and supported by family ethnographies in the UK, this chapter sheds light on this very topic. Using the examples of austeritizing welfare and austere consumption, it brings to the fore the inseparability of familial and financial relations, everyday life, and economic change. The conclusion calls for further research into the social geographies of austerity, to extend beyond families and households to include friendships, intimacies, and acquaintanceships.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geography, School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester, Arthur Lewis Building-1.056, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

    Sarah Marie Hall

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  1. Sarah Marie Hall
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Correspondence to Sarah Marie Hall .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Applied Science, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom

    Samantha Punch

  2. The School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom

    Robert Vanderbeck

  3. Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Tracey Skelton

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Hall, S.M. (2016). Family Relations in Times of Austerity: Reflections from the UK. In: Punch, S., Vanderbeck, R., Skelton, T. (eds) Families, Intergenerationality, and Peer Group Relations. Geographies of Children and Young People, vol 5. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4585-92-7_22-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4585-92-7_22-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-4585-92-7

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