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Lorena Arocha

University of Hull, Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation (WISE), Faculty Member

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My research interests focus on examining how ‘new’ exploitative practices are defined and how this frames policy responses and privileges particular narratives while silencing others. I am particularly interested in studying how the way in which these are codified as discrete policy issues translates in responding to the complexities in the lives and trajectories of particular groups and communities and what that translation process entails when considering diverse socio-political and economic contexts.

Info about photo: For those of you who may wonder about the photo I've selected, the diablo was created by César Manrique for the Parque Nacional de Timanfaya in Lanzarote, where part of my family originates from. It represents the volcano, lava and fire of that land and the strength and resilience of its people.
Phone: 01582 743 445
Address: Room C411, Park Square Campus, Park Square, Luton, Bedfordshire

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Papers by Lorena Arocha

Anti-Trafficking Partnerships - Meanings, Practices and Challenges

Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Countries Studies, Jul 12, 2016

What are the key components of successful awareness raising and prevention campaigns to combat cross border trafficking of young people up to 25 years old

Dreaming of a mail-order husband. Russian-American Internet romance by Johnson, Ericka

Social Anthropology, Feb 18, 2009

Theoretical Perspectives on Understanding Slavery: Past and Present Challenges

The starting point of any study of slavery is the question of how we ought to define it. Providin... more The starting point of any study of slavery is the question of how we ought to define it. Providing a definition is a theoretical exercise that demarcates which practices should be categorized as slavery. Theoretical constructs lean toward generalization, which tends to understate the diversity of practices and experiences that can be found in slavery. This difficulty is yet to be resolved. The terminology that is often employed to classify slavery today also appears to be elusive. Some of the key questions that surface in trying to define the term ‘contemporary forms of slavery’1 include: Is there a characteristic or attribute common to all practices falling under this term? Does slavery mean the same to all societies? Can we compare ‘contemporary slaves’ with ‘old slaves’?

to Safeguard Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation?

Key findings and recommendations ................................ 4

Romantic Relationships in a Time of ‘Cold Intimacies’

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more

Worker-Driven Initiatives to Tackle Modern Slavery

Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 2020

As part of the SDG goal 8, which calls for promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, p... more As part of the SDG goal 8, which calls for promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, productive employment, and decent work for all, goal 8.7 as one among its 12 targets urges stakeholders to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, modern slavery, and human trafficking. Modern slavery as used in the current juncture attempts to provide an expanded definition of exploitative conditions of work, but how these conditions are framed and whether these are situated within questions of political economy are fundamental to understanding the likely impact of interventions on the ground to achieve goal 8.7. The definition of modern slavery needs to be culturally located as well. Its use has been recently incorporated into national legislation in developed countries to refer to extreme cases of labor and sexual exploitation, especially with respect to migrant populations, prevalent in most parts of the world where production has been decentralized. This definition has encouraged a shift in approaches, moving away from criminal antitrafficking rescue and rehabilitation measures that do not recognize the agency of workers to those that start to acknowledge worker participation in production. In this context, worker-driven initiatives to tackle modern slavery by workers and worker organizations in select sectors have emerged as a response to address the tensions between the requirements of decent work and the imperatives of economic growth. The attempt in this entry is to unravel the varied dimensions of this complex relationship and the tensions and contradictions in the fulfillment of goal 8.7.

Anti-Trafficking Partnerships - Meanings, Practices and Challenges

Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Countries Studies, 2016

Slavery in the Indian Ocean and Indian Sub-continent: the past and present

Women, Migration and Labour Exploitation: Challenging Frameworks

Journal of Migration Affairs, 2020

Migration narratives often resist incorporating a gendered lens, thereby erasing or failing to ac... more Migration narratives often resist incorporating a gendered lens, thereby erasing or failing to account for the 'herstories' of women, and for persons from marginal backgrounds who move in search of freedom, survival and autonomy. This is not dissimilar to how women's work, especially when exploitative, has been conceptualised to date. Often formulated as social-reproductive work, this conceptual framework has failed to address the normative considerations that continue to devalue women's work by frequently seeing it in juxtaposition to productive (valuable) work, complementary and subordinate to it. Despite decades of feminist attention to this and sustained efforts at visibilising women's work, it has not yet overcome established configurations and grammars that continue to subordinate it. In this article, we consider two case studies in India to highlight some of these persistent blinders that attempt to render visible the situation of women who migrate for work. Focusing on these women's experiences as migrants and workers, and their efforts to address their precarious and exploitative conditions, allows us to not only reflect on the challenges in better conceptualising these women's lives but more importantly, to identify what these struggles say about the Indian women's movement. In both cases, migrant women workers have built solidarity alliances with other women's networks, and these are fundamental to re-energising the movement.

‘Ways of Seeing’—Policy paradigms and unfree labour in India

Anti-Trafficking Review, 2020

This article traces the trajectory of different initiatives to address unfree labour and their im... more This article traces the trajectory of different initiatives to address unfree labour and their impact on workers’ capacity to aspire to and exercise their rights in India. We attempt to understand the dimensions and effects of different ‘ways of seeing’ precarity and exploitation within the larger context of economic policies, social structures such as caste-based discrimination, gender-based violence, and state indifference. In a caste and gender-unequal society such as India, with deep regional disparities, we examine how different lenses have impacted on development-led historical processes of informalisation and flexibilisation of work. We do this by contrasting two different ‘models’ in the country, one in the north in a rural setting and the other in the west in an urban context. Context is important, but the organisations and activists involved in our two case studies saw their role and that of workers differently, operating according to distinct goals and working practices. ...

Theoretical Perspectives on Understanding Slavery: Past and Present Challenges

Human Trafficking in Europe, 2010

The starting point of any study of slavery is the question of how we ought to define it. Providin... more The starting point of any study of slavery is the question of how we ought to define it. Providing a definition is a theoretical exercise that demarcates which practices should be categorized as slavery. Theoretical constructs lean toward generalization, which tends to understate the diversity of practices and experiences that can be found in slavery. This difficulty is yet to be resolved. The terminology that is often employed to classify slavery today also appears to be elusive. Some of the key questions that surface in trying to define the term ‘contemporary forms of slavery’1 include: Is there a characteristic or attribute common to all practices falling under this term? Does slavery mean the same to all societies? Can we compare ‘contemporary slaves’ with ‘old slaves’?

Slavery in the Indian Ocean and Indian Sub-continent: the past and present

Wrong kind of victim? One year on: an analysis of UK measures to protect trafficked persons

‘What's Going On’ to Safeguard Children and Young People from Child Sexual Exploitation: A Review of Local Safeguarding Children Boards’ Work to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation

Child Abuse Review, 2013

ABSTRACT

Journal of Migration Affairs 22 | ©author(s

by Roshni Chattopadhyay and Lorena Arocha

Women, Migration and Labour Exploitation: Challenging Frameworks, 2020

Migration narratives often resist incorporating a gendered lens, thereby erasing or failing to ac... more Migration narratives often resist incorporating a gendered lens, thereby erasing or failing to account for the 'herstories' of women, and for persons from marginal backgrounds who move in search of freedom, survival and autonomy. This is not dissimilar to how women's work, especially when exploitative, has been conceptualised to date. Often formulated as social-reproductive work, this conceptual framework has failed to address the normative considerations that continue to devalue women's work by frequently seeing it in juxtaposition to productive (valuable) work, complementary and subordinate to it. Despite decades of feminist attention to this and sustained efforts at visibilising women's work, it has not yet overcome established configurations and grammars that continue to subordinate it. In this article, we consider two case studies in India to highlight some of these persistent blinders that attempt to render visible the situation of women who migrate for work. Focusing on these women's experiences as migrants and workers, and their efforts to address their precarious and exploitative conditions, allows us to not only reflect on the challenges in better conceptualising these women's lives but more importantly, to identify what these struggles say about the Indian women's movement. In both cases, migrant women workers have built solidarity alliances with other women's networks, and these are fundamental to re-energising the movement.

Women, Migration and Labour Exploitation: Challenging Frameworks

Journal of Migration Affairs, 2020

Migration narratives often resist incorporating a gendered lens, thereby erasing or failing to ac... more Migration narratives often resist incorporating a gendered lens, thereby erasing or failing to account for the 'herstories' of women, and for persons from marginal backgrounds who move in search of freedom, survival and autonomy. This is not dissimilar to how women's work, especially when exploitative, has been conceptualised to date. Often formulated as social-reproductive work, this conceptual framework has failed to address the normative considerations that continue to devalue women's work by frequently seeing it in juxtaposition to productive (valuable) work, complementary and subordinate to it. Despite decades of feminist attention to this and sustained efforts at visibilising women's work, it has not yet overcome established configurations and grammars that continue to subordinate it. In this article, we consider two case studies in India to highlight some of these persistent blinders that attempt to render visible the situation of women who migrate for work. Focusing on these women's experiences as migrants and workers, and their efforts to address their precarious and exploitative conditions, allows us to not only reflect on the challenges in better conceptualising these women's lives but more importantly, to identify what these struggles say about the Indian women's movement. In both cases, migrant women workers have built solidarity alliances with other women's networks, and these are fundamental to re-energising the movement.

Worker-Driven Initiatives to Tackle Modern Slavery

by Roshni Chattopadhyay and Lorena Arocha

As part of the SDG goal 8, which calls for promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, p... more As part of the SDG goal 8, which calls for promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, productive employment, and decent work for all, goal 8.7 as one among its 12 targets urges stakeholders to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, modern slavery, and human trafficking. Modern slavery as used in the current juncture attempts to provide an expanded definition of exploitative conditions of work, but how these conditions are framed and whether these are situated within questions of political economy are fundamental to understanding the likely impact of interventions on the ground to achieve goal 8.7. The definition of modern slavery needs to be culturally located as well. Its use has been recently incorporated into national legislation in developed countries to refer to extreme cases of labor and sexual exploitation, especially with respect to migrant populations, prevalent in most parts of the world where production has been decentralized. This definition has encouraged a shift in approaches, moving away from criminal antitrafficking rescue and rehabilitation measures that do not recognize the agency of workers to those that start to acknowledge worker participation in production. In this context, worker-driven initiatives to tackle modern slavery by workers and worker organizations in select sectors have emerged as a response to address the tensions between the requirements of decent work and the imperatives of economic growth. The attempt in this entry is to unravel the varied dimensions of this complex relationship and the tensions and contradictions in the fulfillment of goal 8.7.

'Ways of Seeing'-Policy paradigms and unfree labour in India Anti-slavery and Development

by Roshni Chattopadhyay and Lorena Arocha

Anti-trafficking Review, 2020

This article traces the trajectory of different initiatives to address unfree labour and their im... more This article traces the trajectory of different initiatives to address unfree labour and their impact on workers' capacity to aspire to and exercise their rights in India. We attempt to understand the dimensions and effects of different 'ways of seeing' precarity and exploitation within the larger context of economic policies, social structures such as caste-based discrimination, gender-based violence, and state indifference. In a caste and gender-unequal society such as India, with deep regional disparities, we examine how different lenses have impacted on development-led historical processes of informalisation and flexibilisation of work. We do this by contrasting two different 'models' in the country, one in the north in a rural setting and the other in the west in an urban context. Context is important, but the organisations and activists involved in our two case studies saw their role and that of workers differently, operating according to distinct goals and working practices. Our research demonstrates that 'ways of seeing' matter, as they lead to disparate results in terms of workers' capacity to mobilise and claim their rights.

'Ways of Seeing'-Policy paradigms and unfree labour in India Anti-slavery and Development

The Anti-Trafficking Review, 2020

This article traces the trajectory of different initiatives to address unfree labour and their im... more This article traces the trajectory of different initiatives to address unfree labour and their impact on workers' capacity to aspire to and exercise their rights in India. We attempt to understand the dimensions and effects of different 'ways of seeing' precarity and exploitation within the larger context of economic policies, social structures such as caste-based discrimination, gender-based violence, and state indifference. In a caste and gender-unequal society such as India, with deep regional disparities, we examine how different lenses have impacted on development-led historical processes of informalisation and flexibilisation of work. We do this by contrasting two different 'models' in the country, one in the north in a rural setting and the other in the west in an urban context. Context is important, but the organisations and activists involved in our two case studies saw their role and that of workers differently, operating according to distinct goals and working practices. Our research demonstrates that 'ways of seeing' matter, as they lead to disparate results in terms of workers' capacity to mobilise and claim their rights.

Anti-Trafficking Partnerships - Meanings, Practices and Challenges

Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Countries Studies, Jul 12, 2016

What are the key components of successful awareness raising and prevention campaigns to combat cross border trafficking of young people up to 25 years old

Dreaming of a mail-order husband. Russian-American Internet romance by Johnson, Ericka

Social Anthropology, Feb 18, 2009

Theoretical Perspectives on Understanding Slavery: Past and Present Challenges

The starting point of any study of slavery is the question of how we ought to define it. Providin... more The starting point of any study of slavery is the question of how we ought to define it. Providing a definition is a theoretical exercise that demarcates which practices should be categorized as slavery. Theoretical constructs lean toward generalization, which tends to understate the diversity of practices and experiences that can be found in slavery. This difficulty is yet to be resolved. The terminology that is often employed to classify slavery today also appears to be elusive. Some of the key questions that surface in trying to define the term ‘contemporary forms of slavery’1 include: Is there a characteristic or attribute common to all practices falling under this term? Does slavery mean the same to all societies? Can we compare ‘contemporary slaves’ with ‘old slaves’?

to Safeguard Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation?

Key findings and recommendations ................................ 4

Romantic Relationships in a Time of ‘Cold Intimacies’

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more

Worker-Driven Initiatives to Tackle Modern Slavery

Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 2020

As part of the SDG goal 8, which calls for promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, p... more As part of the SDG goal 8, which calls for promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, productive employment, and decent work for all, goal 8.7 as one among its 12 targets urges stakeholders to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, modern slavery, and human trafficking. Modern slavery as used in the current juncture attempts to provide an expanded definition of exploitative conditions of work, but how these conditions are framed and whether these are situated within questions of political economy are fundamental to understanding the likely impact of interventions on the ground to achieve goal 8.7. The definition of modern slavery needs to be culturally located as well. Its use has been recently incorporated into national legislation in developed countries to refer to extreme cases of labor and sexual exploitation, especially with respect to migrant populations, prevalent in most parts of the world where production has been decentralized. This definition has encouraged a shift in approaches, moving away from criminal antitrafficking rescue and rehabilitation measures that do not recognize the agency of workers to those that start to acknowledge worker participation in production. In this context, worker-driven initiatives to tackle modern slavery by workers and worker organizations in select sectors have emerged as a response to address the tensions between the requirements of decent work and the imperatives of economic growth. The attempt in this entry is to unravel the varied dimensions of this complex relationship and the tensions and contradictions in the fulfillment of goal 8.7.

Anti-Trafficking Partnerships - Meanings, Practices and Challenges

Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Countries Studies, 2016

Slavery in the Indian Ocean and Indian Sub-continent: the past and present

Women, Migration and Labour Exploitation: Challenging Frameworks

Journal of Migration Affairs, 2020

Migration narratives often resist incorporating a gendered lens, thereby erasing or failing to ac... more Migration narratives often resist incorporating a gendered lens, thereby erasing or failing to account for the 'herstories' of women, and for persons from marginal backgrounds who move in search of freedom, survival and autonomy. This is not dissimilar to how women's work, especially when exploitative, has been conceptualised to date. Often formulated as social-reproductive work, this conceptual framework has failed to address the normative considerations that continue to devalue women's work by frequently seeing it in juxtaposition to productive (valuable) work, complementary and subordinate to it. Despite decades of feminist attention to this and sustained efforts at visibilising women's work, it has not yet overcome established configurations and grammars that continue to subordinate it. In this article, we consider two case studies in India to highlight some of these persistent blinders that attempt to render visible the situation of women who migrate for work. Focusing on these women's experiences as migrants and workers, and their efforts to address their precarious and exploitative conditions, allows us to not only reflect on the challenges in better conceptualising these women's lives but more importantly, to identify what these struggles say about the Indian women's movement. In both cases, migrant women workers have built solidarity alliances with other women's networks, and these are fundamental to re-energising the movement.

‘Ways of Seeing’—Policy paradigms and unfree labour in India

Anti-Trafficking Review, 2020

This article traces the trajectory of different initiatives to address unfree labour and their im... more This article traces the trajectory of different initiatives to address unfree labour and their impact on workers’ capacity to aspire to and exercise their rights in India. We attempt to understand the dimensions and effects of different ‘ways of seeing’ precarity and exploitation within the larger context of economic policies, social structures such as caste-based discrimination, gender-based violence, and state indifference. In a caste and gender-unequal society such as India, with deep regional disparities, we examine how different lenses have impacted on development-led historical processes of informalisation and flexibilisation of work. We do this by contrasting two different ‘models’ in the country, one in the north in a rural setting and the other in the west in an urban context. Context is important, but the organisations and activists involved in our two case studies saw their role and that of workers differently, operating according to distinct goals and working practices. ...

Theoretical Perspectives on Understanding Slavery: Past and Present Challenges

Human Trafficking in Europe, 2010

The starting point of any study of slavery is the question of how we ought to define it. Providin... more The starting point of any study of slavery is the question of how we ought to define it. Providing a definition is a theoretical exercise that demarcates which practices should be categorized as slavery. Theoretical constructs lean toward generalization, which tends to understate the diversity of practices and experiences that can be found in slavery. This difficulty is yet to be resolved. The terminology that is often employed to classify slavery today also appears to be elusive. Some of the key questions that surface in trying to define the term ‘contemporary forms of slavery’1 include: Is there a characteristic or attribute common to all practices falling under this term? Does slavery mean the same to all societies? Can we compare ‘contemporary slaves’ with ‘old slaves’?

Slavery in the Indian Ocean and Indian Sub-continent: the past and present

Wrong kind of victim? One year on: an analysis of UK measures to protect trafficked persons

‘What's Going On’ to Safeguard Children and Young People from Child Sexual Exploitation: A Review of Local Safeguarding Children Boards’ Work to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation

Child Abuse Review, 2013

ABSTRACT

Journal of Migration Affairs 22 | ©author(s

by Roshni Chattopadhyay and Lorena Arocha

Women, Migration and Labour Exploitation: Challenging Frameworks, 2020

Migration narratives often resist incorporating a gendered lens, thereby erasing or failing to ac... more Migration narratives often resist incorporating a gendered lens, thereby erasing or failing to account for the 'herstories' of women, and for persons from marginal backgrounds who move in search of freedom, survival and autonomy. This is not dissimilar to how women's work, especially when exploitative, has been conceptualised to date. Often formulated as social-reproductive work, this conceptual framework has failed to address the normative considerations that continue to devalue women's work by frequently seeing it in juxtaposition to productive (valuable) work, complementary and subordinate to it. Despite decades of feminist attention to this and sustained efforts at visibilising women's work, it has not yet overcome established configurations and grammars that continue to subordinate it. In this article, we consider two case studies in India to highlight some of these persistent blinders that attempt to render visible the situation of women who migrate for work. Focusing on these women's experiences as migrants and workers, and their efforts to address their precarious and exploitative conditions, allows us to not only reflect on the challenges in better conceptualising these women's lives but more importantly, to identify what these struggles say about the Indian women's movement. In both cases, migrant women workers have built solidarity alliances with other women's networks, and these are fundamental to re-energising the movement.

Women, Migration and Labour Exploitation: Challenging Frameworks

Journal of Migration Affairs, 2020

Migration narratives often resist incorporating a gendered lens, thereby erasing or failing to ac... more Migration narratives often resist incorporating a gendered lens, thereby erasing or failing to account for the 'herstories' of women, and for persons from marginal backgrounds who move in search of freedom, survival and autonomy. This is not dissimilar to how women's work, especially when exploitative, has been conceptualised to date. Often formulated as social-reproductive work, this conceptual framework has failed to address the normative considerations that continue to devalue women's work by frequently seeing it in juxtaposition to productive (valuable) work, complementary and subordinate to it. Despite decades of feminist attention to this and sustained efforts at visibilising women's work, it has not yet overcome established configurations and grammars that continue to subordinate it. In this article, we consider two case studies in India to highlight some of these persistent blinders that attempt to render visible the situation of women who migrate for work. Focusing on these women's experiences as migrants and workers, and their efforts to address their precarious and exploitative conditions, allows us to not only reflect on the challenges in better conceptualising these women's lives but more importantly, to identify what these struggles say about the Indian women's movement. In both cases, migrant women workers have built solidarity alliances with other women's networks, and these are fundamental to re-energising the movement.

Worker-Driven Initiatives to Tackle Modern Slavery

by Roshni Chattopadhyay and Lorena Arocha

As part of the SDG goal 8, which calls for promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, p... more As part of the SDG goal 8, which calls for promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, productive employment, and decent work for all, goal 8.7 as one among its 12 targets urges stakeholders to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, modern slavery, and human trafficking. Modern slavery as used in the current juncture attempts to provide an expanded definition of exploitative conditions of work, but how these conditions are framed and whether these are situated within questions of political economy are fundamental to understanding the likely impact of interventions on the ground to achieve goal 8.7. The definition of modern slavery needs to be culturally located as well. Its use has been recently incorporated into national legislation in developed countries to refer to extreme cases of labor and sexual exploitation, especially with respect to migrant populations, prevalent in most parts of the world where production has been decentralized. This definition has encouraged a shift in approaches, moving away from criminal antitrafficking rescue and rehabilitation measures that do not recognize the agency of workers to those that start to acknowledge worker participation in production. In this context, worker-driven initiatives to tackle modern slavery by workers and worker organizations in select sectors have emerged as a response to address the tensions between the requirements of decent work and the imperatives of economic growth. The attempt in this entry is to unravel the varied dimensions of this complex relationship and the tensions and contradictions in the fulfillment of goal 8.7.

'Ways of Seeing'-Policy paradigms and unfree labour in India Anti-slavery and Development

by Roshni Chattopadhyay and Lorena Arocha

Anti-trafficking Review, 2020

This article traces the trajectory of different initiatives to address unfree labour and their im... more This article traces the trajectory of different initiatives to address unfree labour and their impact on workers' capacity to aspire to and exercise their rights in India. We attempt to understand the dimensions and effects of different 'ways of seeing' precarity and exploitation within the larger context of economic policies, social structures such as caste-based discrimination, gender-based violence, and state indifference. In a caste and gender-unequal society such as India, with deep regional disparities, we examine how different lenses have impacted on development-led historical processes of informalisation and flexibilisation of work. We do this by contrasting two different 'models' in the country, one in the north in a rural setting and the other in the west in an urban context. Context is important, but the organisations and activists involved in our two case studies saw their role and that of workers differently, operating according to distinct goals and working practices. Our research demonstrates that 'ways of seeing' matter, as they lead to disparate results in terms of workers' capacity to mobilise and claim their rights.

'Ways of Seeing'-Policy paradigms and unfree labour in India Anti-slavery and Development

The Anti-Trafficking Review, 2020

This article traces the trajectory of different initiatives to address unfree labour and their im... more This article traces the trajectory of different initiatives to address unfree labour and their impact on workers' capacity to aspire to and exercise their rights in India. We attempt to understand the dimensions and effects of different 'ways of seeing' precarity and exploitation within the larger context of economic policies, social structures such as caste-based discrimination, gender-based violence, and state indifference. In a caste and gender-unequal society such as India, with deep regional disparities, we examine how different lenses have impacted on development-led historical processes of informalisation and flexibilisation of work. We do this by contrasting two different 'models' in the country, one in the north in a rural setting and the other in the west in an urban context. Context is important, but the organisations and activists involved in our two case studies saw their role and that of workers differently, operating according to distinct goals and working practices. Our research demonstrates that 'ways of seeing' matter, as they lead to disparate results in terms of workers' capacity to mobilise and claim their rights.

Romantic Relationships in a Time of ‘Cold Intimacies’

by Lorena Arocha and Julia Carter

Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life book series , 2019

This book addresses the nature of intimacy and relationships in a time of what Eva Illouz charact... more This book addresses the nature of intimacy and relationships in a time of what Eva Illouz characterizes as ‘cold intimacies’. The contributors to this collection highlight the ambivalence and tensions contained in ‘intimacy’ by uncovering a nuanced and complex dynamic, in which interpersonal relations and the public sphere are mutually constituted. A range of topics areexplored, including the new conditions of ‘choice’, the abundance of partners, class and emotional competence, rational decision-making and the specific forms of ‘love pain’ which can emerge from cooled intimacy. The chapters also shed light on the limits of this theoretical contribution, highlighting the importance of parenting, violence, poverty, and other material constraints that continue to limit and frame individuals’ romantic choices. Overall this volume presents an interpretation of intimacy that is not just ‘cold’ but includes practices, desires and feelings that are safe and dangerous, that bring solace or erupt in violence, that lead to salvation or condemnation, and where virtual encounters and increased internal and crossborder mobility have altered the relationship between intimacy and (physical/emotional) distance.

Romantic Relationships in a Time of ‘Cold Intimacies’ will be of interest to scholars and students across a range of disciplines, including sociology, social work, social policy and demography, as well as practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in couple relationships.