Abstract
What is love? Is it an uncontrollable emotion? Is it, instead, socially shaped, both an emotion
and a social practice? Can the bonds of care and affection between humans and non-human
animals be said to be on a par with parent-child relationships between humans? Do parents owe
love to their children – and do mothers and fathers, respectively, owe it to different degrees? Do
subversive weddings challenge normative ideals about love? What is the significance of love for
the value of close personal or family relationships? All these questions and more are discussed in
the articles included in this special issue. The contributors draw from a variety of disciplines
including philosophy, sociology, political science, religious studies, and history, as well as from
empirical work that they have undertaken in Canada, Belgium, Portugal, or Romania. From these
different perspectives and experiences, each contribution addresses important questions about
love and its relation to sexuality, monogamy, friendship, the family, parenthood, or society in
general.