Aunts and uncles could be called the “forgotten” kin because we tend to prioritize parents and grandparents when we think of family relationships. The Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (KUUF) will host a public forum online at 10:30 a.m., Sunday, October 12 about how aunts and uncles sustain family and community life.

Patty Sotirin, an emerita professor of communication and research professor at Michigan Technological University, will discuss how most of us have been shaped through our relationships with our own aunts and uncles. Many of us are, ourselves, an aunt or uncle in an extended family relationship, she points out. Some have “fictive” kin—an aunt or uncle who has been named as such based on a close family friendship. And there are also “chosen” kin, people we name as kin based on close personal relationships like mentors or life guides.

Sotirin will explore the many roles of an aunt or uncle and the ongoing importance of extended kinship connections. Participants will be invited to share their own experiences of what makes aunts and uncles dear.

Sotirin now resides in La Crosse, Wisconsin where she indulges her dog and her passion for feminist scholarship.

There will be time for Q&A after the presentation.

The forum is open to the public. It will only be on zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83975762265?pwd=TC9BcStaTDF4dFZOU2ZsUHhZTERoUT09
Meeting ID: 839 7576 2265
Passcode: KUUF

Forums are recorded. Recordings of past forums can be found at keweenawuu.org