• Kobi Madlen
• Ovsiiuk Oksana

• Kobi Madlen
• Ovsiiuk Oksana

Contemporary social relations increasingly transcend national borders as people migrate in response to war, repression, climate change, economic opportunities, or intimate partnerships. This seminar examines how people sustain social, familial, and intimate relationships across national borders, focusing on the role of digital technologies, infrastructures, routines, and affective labor that maintain or disrupt long‑distance connections. Using socio‑anthropological perspectives on transnationalism and care, students explore how kinship and support systems adapt when lived across distance.
The course offers both theoretical foundations and hands‑on experience studying transnational relations through guest lectures, readings and discussions. Regionally, the guest lectures mainly cover the situation of Ukrainian migrants before and since full-scale invasion. Additional inputs address the situation of Romanian and Afghan Migrants in Switzerland and Transnational Belarusian Families.
The seminar starts on September 21 from 5-7pm with an information session on site in the seminar room for the students that participate from the University of Fribourg where we present the seminar programme. Online sessions will then take place between Oct 5 and Dec 14.

• Students understand the key debates in the field of transnational relations and care in order to apply them in the anthropological analysis of contemporary societies

• Students develop the ability to analyze and discuss complex societal questions

• Students interact with one another transnationally through online teaching and research settings and reflect on the benefits and challenges this brings.