"Family Ties" is the title of a short story and of a collection of stories by the Brazilian writer Claris Lispector. As many of Lispector's texts, "Family Ties" describes  minor, though turbulent, events, which expose  breaches under the coverage of "everyday life".  The orders of a "normative" family constitute the "practice of everyday life" which this story critically examines, pointing to a complex dynamics of conflicting emotions. The Seminar will present literary works which deal with "family ties", written in various languages (among them works by Yakkov Shabtai, Amalia Cahana-Carmon, Lea Eini, Claris Lispector and Elena Ferrante). The discussion will refer to the ways in which, through the mediation of different focal points, the "myth of the family" is examined.  It will also inquire into varying alternative conceptualizations of the family the texts allow. The seminar requires presence in classes, reading of literary and other materials and  a submission of a final paper.