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From Fornicators to Family: Cohabitants and the Law, 1600-2010

At a Glance
Date: Wednesday 9 February 2011
Time: 6pm to 7:15pm
Location: Ramphal Lecture Theatre, Ramphal building
Open To: Everyone
Cost: Free
Summary: In Professor Probert's inaugural lecture, she discusses how the law's treatment of cohabiting couples has changed over time.

In this inaugural lecture, Professor Probert will discuss how the law's treatment of cohabiting couples has changed over time, locating the key changes in both law and practice in the 1970s.

Drawing on a wide range of sources - from Victorian census returns and marriage records to 1970s sitcoms and women's magazines - she will provide important new evidence about the extent of cohabitation in past generations and will demonstrate how the contested relationship between law and social trends is heavily affected by the way in which legal developments are portrayed and (usually) misunderstood.