How do structural changes in the welfare state, in gender relations and work affect concepts and realities of fatherhood? The authors analyse cultural images and representations of fatherhood, varieties of fatherhood in relation to social backgrounds, organisational influences, as well as the impact of political and legal interventions on configurations of fatherhood.

With an interdisciplinary approach this book’s contributions investigate the sometimes contradictory relationship between cultural representations and social practices of fatherhood. They contextualise diverse fatherhoods in various social backgrounds, ethnicities, ages and different national contexts. Refl ecting methodological challenges is crucial to the volume’s approach: Which parameters are used to quantify change? Which links and interactions between cultural, individual, organizational and societal dimensions do exist regarding the development of new social confi gurations of fatherhood? How can the complex interaction between structural constraints and agency be analysed? Can certain agents of change be identified? How can social change be conceptualized? This volume links to international comparative research and shows how fruitful it can be to break disciplinary boundaries.