Postmodern Challenges in Conjugality. Workshop for Students

Main Organizer Institution | Romanian Academy, Institute of Sociology

Co-organizers | LUMEN Research Center in Social & Humanistic Sciences, Romania & Faculty of Law and Administrative Sciences, Stefan cel Mare University from Suceava, Romania

Chair | Apostu Iulian,  Researcher at the Institute of Sociology, Romanian Academy,  phdiulian@gmail.com , 0744494681

Location | E213

Date and time |  16:30 – 18:00

Overview | 

A new orientation in conjugality tends to become more and more visible. The tendencies of conjugal individualism underlined by valuing the self, gradually enter into a competition with the classical values of conjugal solidarity. Solidarity becomes a duty of the other and the conjugal fusion is directly influenced by the way in which the individual manages to incorporate the other into himself.

The analysis of the existing social researches in the field of conjugal couple shows that the contemporary social mentality still values solidarity as being an important value for the conjugal functionality. However, the increasingly frequent social tendencies show that solidarity alters more and more into becoming a type of solidarity “of the other towards myself”. It gets consistency up to the extent in which it is attributed to the other, not to one’s self. Therefore, from an individualist perspective, solidarity appears ement understood as being the other’s moral responsibility. This new orientation tends to reconceptualize solidarity which is being pertained the very fusional aspects in favour of those related to the personal ideal. The reason to stay together no longer involves solidarity of purposes or mutual ideals, the partner becomes means of resource for fulfilling the personal ideals and the coherence of the new solidary orientations derives from the extent to which the other also fulfills his individual ideals through his partner. Thus, solidarity is no longer substantiated by commonly developed and fulfilled values, but it emerges as a consequence of individual fulfillment through the other. This workshop aims to present a possible theoretical explanation of social mentalities that could explain functionality through a structural reconfiguration of solidarity.

Topics | Sociology of the conjugal couple