Doing family while poor: agentic hopelessness as lived knowledge

Abstract

What does ‘doing family while poor’ teach us about agency, resilience and care under COVID-19? Set against a dual backdrop of increasing economic hardships and expanding inequalities, and in light of a shifting perspective in poverty and family studies, we employ David Morgan’s family practices approach to study the lived realities of family life through the perspective of everyday relationships. Our research, led by a team comprised of academics and activists who themselves endure poverty, is set to allow people experiencing poverty to document their everyday lives. In their journals we identify a form of social awareness to the politics of poverty, which consist of negative emotions emanating from one’s daily struggles against the harsh reality of inequality, yet do not lead to paralysis and inaction. We dub this state agentic hopelessness.

Remembering David Morgan and his work: collaborations, inspirations and new applications

“…The article by Dana Kaplan (2022) and her co-authors considers how living in poverty modifies family practices. The authors draw on research involving white Jewish families bringing up children while living in poverty in Israel, many of whom are lone mothers.…”

‘Ain’t I a human being?’: self-documentation of living in poverty in the face of the abandoning state

“…At the same time, being subjected to various practices of state monitoring and surveillance often results not only in mistrust but also in withdrawing almost altogether from the welfare services. Thus, for example, women who live in persistent poverty fear that any sign of weakness will result in their children be removed by an order of the social worker (Kaplan et al, 2022). In the following, we discuss each of the two paths.…”