On reproduction

On reproduction Robbie Davis-Floyd and Sarah Franklin This article appears in the Sage Encyclopedia of Anthropology, Sage Publications, 2005. “Reproduction” in anthropology refers to the processes by which new social members are produced — specifically, the physiological processes of conception, pregnancy, birth, and child-raising. In its larger sense, “reproduction” is used to encompass the processes by which societies are reproduced for the future. The term is thus fraught with biological, cultural, and political meanings; power is a central focus in reproductive studies, as those who have the power to influence the process of reproduction can control large populations for better or for worse.

Reproductive technologies

Reproductive technologies Sarah Franklin PhD, Dept. of Sociology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK Robbie Davis-Floyd Ph D,Research Fellow, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Texas Austin This article appears in the Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women, New York: Routledge, 2001. All human societies in all historical periods have developed techniques to prevent and to facilitate conception, and to shape culturally the physiological processes of gestation, labor, birth, and breastfeeding. There is, however, no precedent for the rapid expansion of reproductive technologies in the latter half of the twentieth century—an expansion that has dramatically redefined the parameters of biological reproduction. From the birth of the world’s first test-tube baby in 1978 to the cloning of a higher vertebrate from an adult cell in […]

Davis-Floyd 2000 afterword, technologies of the exterior, technologies of the interior, can we expand the discourse of reproductive studies

Davis-Floyd 2000 afterword, technologies of the exterior, technologies of the interior, can we expand the discourse of reproductive studies In their introduction to this book, the editors note that the new reproductive technologies (NRTs) “raise” conflicts about how technology might be used in relation to human birth; yet often , what gets reported and thus communicated to society at large is a mix of technological determinism and wonder, with very little critical perspective. They chapters in this book do an excellent job of providing that perspective. They call into question the dilennas and paradoxes presented by the NRTs but so often skimmed over in both technoscientific and popular discourse. They also highlight the gender biases and pitfalls that pervade the […]