Sociology: Contemporary Fathers - Experiences, Expectations & Wellbeing With Professor Paul Hodkinson From University of Surrey.
In this session, Professor Paul Hodkinson, will run an interactive talk for students on the role and impact of the father entitled Contemporary Fathers - Experiences, Expectations & Wellbeing.
In this Sociology session, Professor Paul Hodkinson, a leading academic in the Department of Sociology at University of Surrey, will run an interactive talk for students on the role and impact of the father entitled Contemporary Fathers – Experiences, Expectations & Wellbeing.
What involvement do contemporary fathers have in caring and parenting? How does becoming a father affect men’s life, identity and wellbeing? What kind of social expectations do fathers encounter, and what kind of challenges do these create?
In this talk we examine the role and experience of fathers and the way in which they are positioned by society. Against the context of shifting understandings of men, but ongoing gender barriers in the home and workplace, we examine what has and hasn’t changed with respect to fathers’ involvement in parenting their children, and some of the difficulties that can be experienced by those who do take on extensive caregiving roles.
We will also explore what the experience of becoming a parent can be like for fathers, and the ways in which expectations on men and fathers can contribute to wellbeing struggles during or after the process of having a baby.