Gender, Kinship and Power: A Comparative and Interdisciplinary History

Through twenty engaging essays exploring cultures ranging from ancient Judaic civilization to contemporary Brazil,Gender, Kinship and Powerplaces important contemporary issues related to kinship--such as parental responsibility and female-headed households--in their proper comparative and historical framework. In its introduction,Gender, Kinship and Poweroffers a broad survey of historical and anthropological studies of kinship. The ensuing essays illuminate a number of specific questions central to the study of kinship: how family relations and descent are understood in various cultural settings, how gender shapes kinship rules and practices, and how kinship positions held by men and women affect their power in other realms. Gender, Kinship and Poweris the product of an extensive international collaboration between historians and anthropologists. It will appeal to a broad base of readers at various levels concerned withissues of gender, kinship and power in the past, as well as those with an interest in how understandings of these issues affect the shaping of contemporary social policy. Contributors: Howard Eilberg-Schwartz, Gianna Pomata, Ann Waltner, Alexander Bolyanatz, Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, Lucia Ferrante, Shanti Menon, Gloria Goodwin Raheja, Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg, Barbara Hanawalt, Maura Palazzi, Eni de Mesquita Samara, Norbert Ortmayr, Mary Jo Maynes, Carmen Ramos Escandon, Parry Scott, Muriel Nazarri, Jean O'Brien, Kiran Cunningham and Bill Maurer.