Managing Reproductive Life: Cross-Cultural Themes in Fertility and Sexuality / Edition 1

by Soraya Tremayne

Overview

Throughout history human societies have sought to manage their reproductive lives to make them fit in with their social, economic and biological conditions. But the different ways communities regulate their fertility, penetrating every aspect of their social life, are so varied and specific that they are often incomprehensible to outsiders. In this book a group of anthropologists set out to throw new light on the dynamics of human reproduction in the world today, looking at the intricate ways that people manage their reproductive life across different cultures, and highlighting the wider meaning of human reproduction and its impact on social organization. The importance of human agency, ethnic boundaries, the regulation of gender relations, issues of fertility and infertility, the significance of children and motherhood and the problems of two large vulnerable social groups, youth and refugees, are all considered in their broader social contexts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781571815002
Publisher:	Berghahn Books
Publication date:	12/01/2001
Series:	Fertility, Reproduction and Sexuality: Social and Cultural Perspectives , #1
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Soraya Tremayne is Co-ordinating Director of the Fertility and Reproduction Studies Group and a Research Associate at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford, and a Vice-President of the Royal Anthropological Institute.

Editorial Reviews

In 1999, the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Oxford held a workshop on the social dynamics of human reproduction. This volume contains 12 papers from scholars in Britain and the U.S. that were originally presented at that workshop. Topics include, for example, motherhood among young prostitutes in Thailand, the meaning of children in Hong Kong, and the reproductive health of refugees. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"[This] ... excellent overview ... should be valuable in medical anthropology, gender and demography studies. It demonstrates the value of anthropology in exploring the varied cultural and economic contexts for reproductive decisions and sexual power relations." - Social Anthropology (EASA)

"... the authors provide innovative ethnographic data and analysis ... This edited volume is notable for its coherence and the consistent attention to the themes of the three sections." - American Ethnologist

From the Publisher