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LUXFUT

Futures and Pasts in Transition

Family Conversations on Occupational and Personal Ambitions and Perspectives in Luxembourg

Traditionally, families have served as a core social unit offering a sense of belonging and continuity, not the least with regard to “inherited” professional occupations and social status to its members. This function has been wiped away by accelerating economical changes, enforcing the change of biographical and professional scripts. Today, the parents’ and grandparents’ careers no longer serve as models for the younger generations.

The project “LUXFUT” investigates the ways in which memories transmitted in families affect the future expectations of individual family members. Special attention is paid to the interrelation between social change, intergenerational social mobility and historical consciousness.

The study is based on the theoretical assumption that the self understanding of individuals and social groups as well as the ability to cope with reality depend on historical consciousness: The past has to be narrated and related to the present and future in meaningful ways in order to enable the subjects to interpret and act in situations of change. Which impact do memories transmitted in families have on the individual member’s biographical scripts? In which ways is intergenerational communication about the past related to future expectations within families? Do members of different generations share common stories and interpretations to cope with their individual needs of orientation? Do memories bridge the generational gaps that are experienced due to dramatic changes in biographical scripts.

The study is part of a comparative investigation of historical consciousness and future expectations, with ongoing studies in Germany and the United States, in co-operation with the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities/Essen ( www.kwi-nrw.de ) and Emory University/Atlanta. The international comparative perspective is supposed to inform about the impact of differing socio-economic situations in the investigated countries, but also on differences in mentalities. The question, which local, national and supra-national frameworks of interpretations exist according to the ways private pasts are interpreted and related to future prospects, points to the changes in social and geographic mobility. By this, the project contributes to comparative research on the family’s relevance for social cohesion and integration.