Kinship in Action

For courses in Social Organization, Kinship, and Cultural Ecology. Kinship has made a come-back in Anthropology. Not only is there a line of noted, general, introductory works and readers in the topic, but theoretical discussions have been stimulated both by technological changes in mechanisms of reproduction and by reconsiderations of how to define kinship in the most productive ways for cross-cultural comparisons. In addition, kinship studies have moved away from the minutiae of kin terminological systems and the "kinship algebra" often associated with these, to the broader analysis of processes, historical changes and fundamental cultural meanings in which kin relationships are implicated. In this changed, and changing context both Andrew Strathern and Pamela J. Stewart -- both of the University of Pittsburgh -- bring together a number of interests and concerns, in order to provide pointers for students, as well as scholars, in this field of study. Taking an explicitly processual approach, the authors examine definitions of terms such as kinship itself, approach the topic in a way that is invariably ethnographic, and deploy materials from field areas where they themselves have worked.

ISBN 0131844849   Pages 224 ISBN13 9780131844841 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 254 Publisher Pearson Education (US)   Published in Upper Saddle River Imprint Pearson   Height (mm) 229 Format Paperback   Width (mm) 152 Publication date 30 Jun 2010   Spine width (mm) 10 DEWEY 306.83   Academic level Professional / Scholarly DEWEY edition DC22

		Preface
		Acknowledgments
		About the Authors
Chapter 1		Introduction		1
		Early Studies		3
		The Revival of Kinship Studies		5
		What is Kinship?		5
		Mobilizing Kin		7
		Family		9
		Marriage		10
		The Fair Maid of Perth		12
		Conclusion		14
		Questions to Consider		14
		Notes		14
Chapter 2		Life Cycles		17
		Life Cycle and Family: Basic Concepts		17
		Marking Birth and Making Identities		18
		Names and Namings		20
		Maturation		22
		Conclusion		31
		Questions to Consider		31
		Notes		32
Chapter 3		Concepts in Reproduction		34
		Birth and Social Reproduction		34
		Trobriand Concepts of Reproduction		36
		Ideas of Reproduction and Social Structure		38
		Legal Contexts		41
		New Reproductive Technology		43
		Adoption		46
		Conclusions		52
		Questions to Consider		52
		Notes		52
		More...

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