---- 1. Worksheet. Create a Family Tree

 Family—however you define it—is one of the main ways care is organised around the world. Whether based on blood, marriage, or chosen ties, these relationships shape who looks after who. Anthropologists use kinship diagrams to explore how people understand family, belonging, and responsibility. In this task, you’ll map your own version of family to start thinking about care and connection in cultural terms.

How can we create a diagram or a map of our family relations. In this worksheet, we use a controversial diagramming tool.

🌿Your task

Your task is to create a family tree, or what anthropologists call a genealogy. 

1. Draw your family tree. Grab yourself a piece of paper, a pencil (or three), an eraser then follow along with these instructions to draw your genealogy.
2. Depict care relations--here's how
3. Indicate your No.1 Carer, as shown here.

If you have any further questions, check the details below.

🌿 Kinship Mapping (details) 

For this task, you're asked to create a kinship diagram (genealogy / family tree) showing your family relationships. Please try to use the standard kinship symbols where possible.

🕰️ Standard Kinship Symbols 

• △ = male

• ◯ = female

• = = marriage

• — = sibling tie

• | = descent

• ≠ or // = divorce or separation

If you don’t have a family in the traditional sense—for example, if you're adopted, estranged, part of a chosen or queer family, or raised in a non-biological household—that’s absolutely fine. You can still complete the task by mapping the people you consider to be your family. You might find the following symbols useful:

🌈 Inclusive Kinship symbols

•  ◇  = Non-binary or gender non-conforming person (no universal standard—varies by source)
• ≡ = Cohabiting partnership without marriage
• ~~ = Queerplatonic, chosen, or affective (non-sexual/non-biological) tie
• ---- = Voluntary ties or "fictive kin" (e.g. godparent, mentor)
• ↔ = Reciprocal or mutual care ties

If these aren't useful and you need to introduce any new symbols, be sure to include a short legend (or key that explains what your symbols mean).

Feel free to add a brief explanation if your diagram needs more context

And if the above still doesn't work for you, feel free to get creative!.

As we will discuss in Week 2, for anthropologist, kinship is not just about biology—it’s about how people live and understand relatedness. So make this kinship diagram work for you!! :)

🗳️ Assessment: Did your kinship diagram reflect your real family world?

1. Upload your kinship diagram.

2.  Take a moment to reflect: Did the kinship diagram you created feel like it represented your family accurately?

•  ✅ Yes Why did it work for you? What parts of your family did it help make visible? 
• ❌ No Why not? What felt missing, limiting, or misrepresented? 

3. ✍️ Please write 2–3 sentences explaining your answer. This reflection will help you—and us—think about what these diagrams can and can’t capture. I’ll be reading your responses and will share a summary of the results (anonymously—so you can see how others experienced this task too!

Conclusion

This week's exercise has given you a basic understanding of kinship diagrams, necessary for Week 2. You'll reuse your genealogy in Weeks 2 and 3, so don't throw it away after you've taken a photo.

Significance

Why are genealogies considered old-fashioned or even controversial? It's because they often assume that family is purely biological, fixed, and heteronormative. Traditional genealogies tend to prioritise blood ties, nuclear families, and male lineage, which can erase or overlook adoptive families, chosen families, queer relationships, and other forms of kinship that don’t fit the “standard” model. Some anthropologists today even wonder whether traditional genealogies even help explain 'traditional' families. Others, like me, think they provide the basis for powerful insights. This will be something you'll have to ponder over the next few weeks!