Categorized, administered and 'placed'. Child placement processes in the cantons of Bern and Ticino, 1960 to 1980

Research on the Swiss social history suggests that child placements in Switzerland particularly affected socially marginalized families and that gender-specific arguments played a significant role (Hafner 2011; Hauss 2008; Businger / Janett / Ramsauer 2018). However, only little is known as to how national, ethnic or racializing categorisations played a role in these decisions (Lengwiler et al. 2013) and how they intersected with gender and class. This thesis addresses this research gap. Drawing on a Foucauldian frame of reference it investigates how the swiss state governed and administered families, parents and their children through the measure of child placements and the underlying intersecting categorisations.The thesis analyses 160 cases of placement processes between 1960 and 1980 in the cantons of Bern and Ticino. Mobilising a multi-perspective approach (Achermann 2009), both different forms of data and different perspectives of actors are taken into account. The perspective of the state authorities and other involved actors and institutions is investigated by means of archival research. The perspective of the concerned persons and their families is examined through narrative interviews. Furthermore, official documents and legal texts are included. The data is analysed following the approach of the Grounded Theory (Strauss / Corbin 1996).The different perspectives shall allow insights into the complexity of child placement processes and the power relations that become effective within and through them. In doing so, the dissertation seeks to contribute to the reappraisal of child placements in Switzerland and to the theoretical understanding of complex categorisation processes and the functioning and actions of the state.