Franklin Professors Speak In Amsterdam And Zurich On Swiss Divorce Law

09/26/2006

Franklin Professors Caroline Weidmer and Sara Steinert Borella of the Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies area became intrigued when a petition brought before Swiss Parliament concluded that child custody regulations discriminated against men.

The petition called for the remedy of making joint custody the rule and not the exception.

The petition resulted in a national debate over gender roles, gender inequality, the distribution of power among the sexes, and child welfare. “The petition hit a cultural nerve,” said Professor Steinert Borella.

Thus, the two professors began their research. They examined the narratives that influenced Swiss Civil Code, including Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Emile. “Our research considers the implications the contemporary parliamentary debate in Switzerland has for the relationship between narrative, culture and law,” said Professor Weidmer.

This past June, they shared the results of their hard work at The Society for Literature, Science and Arts Conference in a presentation titled The Illegitimate Parent: (Re)aligning Gender Roles in the Family. This coming September, the professors have been asked to present the topic at the University of Zurich at the Conference for Law and Gender Studies.

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