Heidi Bucher at the skinning of Herrenzimmer (Gentlemen’s Study). Courtesy The Estate of Heidi Bucher Photo: Hans Peter Siffert.

Workshop

Family Matters
A Transnational Dialogue Between Literature and Legal History

May 11, 2026, 10:00–17:45

Meridian Hall, Collegium Helveticum

Convened by

Tatiana Crivelli
Sabbatical-at-Home Fellow 2025–2026

Elisabetta Fiocchi Malaspina
Associate Fellow

Details

Venue & accessibility info: Meridian Hall, Collegium Helveticum

This is a public event. Participation is free of charge and registration is not required.

The talks will be given in German or Italian. During the discussion, contributions in English are also welcome.

This workshop aims to develop a shared, interdisciplinary reflection on the concept of family, a topic that remains at the centre of intense public debate, where political arguments and cultural narratives often confront one another with conflicting outcomes.

By combining the critical representation of family emerging from feminist literary production since the 1970s with a historical and legal contextualisation of family legislation, the workshop seeks to foster a productive dialogue between different methodological approaches.

The comparative perspective will operate not only across disciplines but also across national contexts, focusing on Italy and Switzerland, and encouraging a transnational and cross-disciplinary discussion.

The workshop offers stimulating perspectives for a broad audience. It welcomes anyone interested in the topic, including students, researchers at all stages of their careers, practitioners, and members of the public who are engaged with questions of family, law, and equal opportunities.

Program

10:00	Opening & welcome remarks By Tatiana Crivelli and the Collegium’s directorate
10:15	Deconstructing Family Italian Literature and Feminist Movements
	Reinventare la famiglia? La scrittura delle donne in tempi di cambiamento Maria Serena Sapegno La Sapienza, Università di Roma, IT Keynote lecture in Italian on how writers from the 1970s onward have critically reimagined the notion of family, challenged traditional gender roles, and exposed the cultural and ideological assumptions embedded in family-related norms. Attention will be given to narrative strategies, genre experimentation, and the literary deconstruction of “natural” versus “artificial” laws.
11:00	Discussion
11:30	Coffee break
12:00	On Family The Work of Alice Ceresa (1923–2001) SNSF-Project “Arcipelago Ceresa” Tatiana Crivelli Collegium Helveticum University of Zurich, CH Giovanna Cordibella University of Bern, CH Eleonora Norcini University of Zurich, CH Eva Vanacore University of Zurich, CH
13:00	Lunch break
14:00	Reconstructing Family Swiss Law and Feminist Movements
	Familie: eindeutig mehrdeutig Wie sich soziale Verhältnisse und ihre gesetzliche Abbildung verändern Keynote lecture in German examining developments in marriage law, parental authority, reproductive rights, and gender equality from the 1970s to the present. Zita Küng Lawyer and women’s rights activist, CH
14:45	On Family: Swiss Women Jurists and Women’s Rights An Open Innovation Project Elisabetta Fiocchi Malaspina Collegium Helveticum University of Zurich, CH Lorena Rosalina Aronsky University of Zurich, CH Tessa Ferrari University of Zurich, CH Suray Hirda University of Zurich, CH Valentina La Licata University of Zurich, CH Jil-Christine Saur University of Zurich, CH
15:45	Coffee break
16:15	Rethinking Family Today Round table Tatiana Crivelli Collegium Helveticum/University of Zurich, CH Elisabetta Fiocchi Malaspina Collegium Helveticum/University of Zurich, CH Sandra Hotz University of Neuchâtel, CH Zita Küng Lawyer and women’s rights activist, CH Maria Serena Sapegno La Sapienza, Università di Roma, IT
17:15	Multilingual theatrical reading Laura Lienhard reads literary texts that address family structures, care relations, and intergenerational dynamics.
17:45	Concluding remarks Followed by a small reception.

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Program

Opening & welcome remarks

Deconstructing FamilyItalian Literature and Feminist Movements

Reinventare la famiglia? La scrittura delle donne in tempi di cambiamento

Discussion

Coffee break

On FamilyThe Work of Alice Ceresa (1923–2001)

Lunch break

Reconstructing FamilySwiss Law and Feminist Movements

Familie: eindeutig mehrdeutigWie sich soziale Verhältnisse und ihre gesetzliche Abbildung verändern

On Family: Swiss Women Jurists and Women’s RightsAn Open Innovation Project

Coffee break

Rethinking Family TodayRound table

Multilingual theatrical reading

Concluding remarks

Deconstructing Family
Italian Literature and Feminist Movements

Reinventare la famiglia?
La scrittura delle donne in tempi di cambiamento

On Family
The Work of Alice Ceresa (1923–2001)

Reconstructing Family
Swiss Law and Feminist Movements

Familie: eindeutig mehrdeutig
Wie sich soziale Verhältnisse und ihre gesetzliche Abbildung verändern

On Family: Swiss Women Jurists and Women’s Rights
An Open Innovation Project

Rethinking Family Today
Round table