Child fostering in the context of ethnic heterogenity (Borgu/ Republik of Benin)

• Applicant: Privatdozentin Dr. Jeannett Martin
• Subject Area: Social and Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology
• Term: from 2009 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 118517668

Adopting a comparative and actor-oriented perspective, the research project studies the notions of parenthood and the practice of child fostering in three ethnic communities - Fee, Fulbe (Fulani) and Gando - in rural and urban settings of the Beninese Borgu. Therefore, in using quantitative and qualitative methods, data were conducted in two rural regions and one urban center. Furthermore, the project aims at a better understanding of the social constructions of kinship and ethnic identities in investigating forms of interethnic child fostering in the Borgu and their meaning in the interethnic relations of the area under research. Besides, the project focuses on how child fostering is constructed and negotiated by two groups of social actors: children and men in rural and urban areas.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants