New Directions in Anthropological Kinship

by Linda Stone (Editor), Lynn Åkesson (Contribution by), Lisa M. Anderson-Levy (Contribution by), Caroline B. Brettell Southern Methodist University (Contribution by), Rosa De Jorio (Contribution by)

Overview

Following periods of intense debate and eventual demise, kinship studies is now seeing a revival in anthropology. New Directions in Anthropological Kinship captures these recent trends and explores new avenues of inquiry in this re-emerging subfield. The book comprises contributions from primatology, evolutionary anthropology, archaeology, and cultural anthropology. The authors review the history of kinship in anthropology and its theory, and recent research in relation to new directions of anthropological study. Moving beyond the contentious debates of the past, the book covers feminist anthropology on kinship, the expansion of kinship into the areas of new reproductive technologies, recent kinship constructions in EuroAmerican societies, and the role of kinship in state politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742501072
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	12/13/2000
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.16(w) x 9.24(h) x 1.03(d)

About the Author

Linda Stone is professor of anthropology at Washington State University.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Theoretical Implications of New Directions in Anthropological Kinship Part 3 Kinship in the History of Anthropology Chapter 4 Whatever Happened to Kinship Studies? Chapter 5 "Not that Lineage Stuff": Teaching Kinship into the 21st Century Part 6 Biology and Culture in the Study of Kinship Chapter 7 Ties that Bond: The Role of Kinship in Primate Studies Chapter 8 Neoevolutionary Approaches to Human Kinship Chapter 9 Schneider Revisited: Sharing and Ratification in the Construction of Kinship Part 10 Kinship and New Reproductive Technologies Chapter 11 Bound by Blood? New Meanings of Kinship and Individuality in Discourses of Genetic Counseling Chapter 12 The Threatened Sperm: Parenthood in the Age of Biomedicine Part 13 Kinship and Gender Chapter 14 Mischief on the Margins: Gender Primogeniture and Cognatic Descent among the Maori Chapter 15 Power, Control, and the Mother-in-law Problem: Face-offs in the American Nuclear Family Chapter 16 Colliding/ Colluding Identities: Race, Class, and Gender in Jamaican Family Systems Chapter 17 Kin and Gender in Classic Maya Society: A Case Study from Yaxchilan, Mexico Part 18 New Family Forms and New Formulations of "Family" Chapter 19 Parenting from Separate Households: A Cultural Perspective Chapter 20 Open Adoption: Extending Families, Exchanging Facts Chapter 21 In the Name of the Father: Theology, Kinship, and Charisma in the American Polygynous Community Chapter 22 Fictive Kinship in American Biomedicine Part 23 Kinship and the Politics of Nations Chapter 24 Going Nuclear: New Zealand Bureaucratic Fantasies of Samoan Extended Families Chapter 25 Women's Organizations, the Ideology of Kinship, and the State in Post-Independence Mali

Editorial Reviews

Linda Stone, in New Directions in Anthropological Kinship, has extended contemporary kinship-based debates by demonstrating the importance and timeliness of kinship studies. New Directions is an important addition to the literature for anyone interested in following the inherently interesting trajectory of the recently resuscitated kinship studies.

Heléna Ragoné

This is a valuable volume for the range of perspectives and subject-matter on offer with respect to a subject, kinship, that has once again become a core topic in anthropology. Not only fellow professionals, but also the more advanced students will benefit from it.

Journal Of The Royal Anthropological Institute

New Directions in Anthropological Kinship is an important, expansive, and provocative collection of essays that simultaneously demonstrates both the vitality and promise of the reconstituted field of kinship studies as well as the intellectual value of a broadly defined anthropology. The contributors present a good deal of original research in highly accessible prose, and analyze topics ranging from the history of kinship studies, primate kinship, and problems with mothers-in-law, to discourses of genetic counseling, post-divorce parenting, open adoption, and the gender(ed) and class politics of kinship in nation-states. This fine book will be of interest to seasoned anthropologists and to students at all levels.

Michael G. Peletz

The essays collected in this volume offer rich testimony to the several and diverse directions kinship studies have taken in anthropology, especially under the influence of feminist thought. One of its special features is its coverage of anthropology quite generally. Its publication will surely stimulate more lively discussion of a wide range of issues.

Harold W. Scheffler

A good introduction to the current status of kinship studies.

American Anthropologist

This book's collection of essays outlines some of the major new directions in anthropological kinship, with contributions from archeology, primatology, evolutionary anthropology, and sociolinguistics. The essays cover six broad topics: kinship in the history of anthropology, biology and culture in the study of kinship, kinship and new reproductive technologies, kinship and gender, new family forms and kinship and the politics of nations. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

New Directions in Anthropological Kinship is an important, expansive, and provocative collection of essays that simultaneously demonstrates both the vitality and promise of the reconstituted field of kinship studies as well as the intellectual value of a broadly defined anthropology. The contributors present a good deal of original research in highly accessible prose, and analyze topics ranging from the history of kinship studies, primate kinship, and problems with mothers-in-law, to discourses of genetic counseling, post-divorce parenting, open adoption, and the gender(ed) and class politics of kinship in nation-states. This fine book will be of interest to seasoned anthropologists and to students at all levels.--Michael G. Peletz, Colgate University

Bravo for this treasure trove of a collection, in which kinship is not only alive and well but teeming with new possibilities. From Mayan glyphs in early Mexico to genetic counseling sessions in contemporary Sweden, from activist women's associations in Mali to part-time parenting families in Massachusetts, the anthropological investigation of the shape, origins and meanings of kinship has never been more vigorous.--Alma Gottlieb, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

The essays collected in this volume offer rich testimony to the several and diverse directions kinship studies have taken in anthropology, especially under the influence of feminist thought. One of its special features is its coverage of anthropology quite generally. Its publication will surely stimulate more lively discussion of a wide range of issues.--Harold W. Scheffler, Yale University

From the Publisher

Bravo for this treasure trove of a collection, in which kinship is not only alive and well but teeming with new possibilities. From Mayan glyphs in early Mexico to genetic counseling sessions in contemporary Sweden, from activist women's associations in Mali to part-time parenting families in Massachusetts, the anthropological investigation of the shape, origins and meanings of kinship has never been more vigorous.

Alma Gottlieb