A Companion to the Anthropology of Reproductive Medicine and Technology

A groundbreaking volume that provides fresh perspectives on the past, present, and future-facing contributions of the anthropology of reproduction.

Overview

A Companion to the Anthropology of Reproductive Medicine and Technology offers a comprehensive overview of the anthropological study of reproductive practices, technologies, and interventions in a global context. This book explores the medical and technological management of human reproduction through a sociocultural lens, reviewing past and current research, discussing contemporary debates and recent theoretical developments, introducing key themes and trends, examining ongoing issues of equity, inclusivity, and reproductive justice around the world, and more.

Contributors

The Companion brings together essays by multidisciplinary scholars in fields including sociocultural anthropology, medical anthropology, reproductive health, global public health, Science and Technology Studies (STS), gender and sexuality studies, critical race studies, and environmental studies, to list but a few.

Organization

The book is organized into five thematically organized sections that address reproductive practitioners and paradigms, global reproductive health and interventions, reproductive justice, the life-course approach to the study of reproductive health, and the future of reproductive technology and medicine.

Topics Covered

Using clear, jargon-free language, the authors investigate pregnancy and childbirth; fertility treatments; birth control, contraception, and abortion; COVID-19 and reproduction; reproductive cancers; epigenetics; social discrimination; gender and sexualities and reproduction for LGBTQIA+ communities; race and reproduction; migration and reproduction; reproduction and war; reproductive health financing; reproduction and disabilities, reproduction and the environment; and other important contemporary topics.

Importance

A cutting-edge guide to the modern study of reproduction, this groundbreaking volume provides an overview of the links between anthropological study and progressive work in medicine, healthcare, and technology. It addresses both the challenges and opportunities facing researchers in the field, identifies gaps in current scholarship and offers recommendations for future research topics and methodologies, highlights the importance of ethnographic research combined with critical engagements with other disciplines for the anthropology of reproduction, explores the impact of socioeconomic conditions, environmental challenges, public policy, and legislation on reproductive health outcomes, and traces the history of the field and demonstrates how anthropologists have engaged with issues of reproductive justice.

Audience

A Companion to the Anthropology of Reproductive Medicine and Technology is an essential resource for undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and scholars in medical anthropology, science technology and society, cultural anthropology, ethnology, and gender studies, as well as medical practitioners, policymakers, and activists involved in global and public health and reproductive justice.

Publication Details

Published by Wiley on September 20, 2023, this book is available in English. The ISBNs are 9781119845348 and 9781119845362.