Fosterage and the politics of marriage and kinship in East Cameroon
Publication year
2004Author(s)
Publisher
London : Routledge
Series
European Association of Social Anthropologists
ISBN
0415303508
In
Bowie, F. (ed.), Cross-cultural approaches to adoption, pp. 48-63Publication type
Part of book or chapter of book
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Editor(s)
Bowie, F.
Organization
SW OZ RSCR CAOS
Book title
Bowie, F. (ed.), Cross-cultural approaches to adoption
Page start
p. 48
Page end
p. 63
Subject
European Association of Social Anthropologists; Dynamics of culture and powerAbstract
Adoption is currently subject to a great deal of media scrutiny. High-profile cases of international adoption via the internet and other unofficial routes, have drawn attention to the relative ease with which children can be obtained on the global circuit, and have brought about legislation which regulates the exchange of children within and between countries. However a scarcity of research into cross-cultural attitudes to child-rearing, and a wider lack of awareness of cultural difference in adoptive contexts, has meant that the assumptions underlying Western childcare policy are seldom examined or made explicit. These articles look at adoption practices from Africa, Oceania, Asia and Central America, including examples of societies in which children are routinely separated from their biological parents or passed through several foster families. Showing the range and flexibility of the child-rearing practices that approximate to the Western term 'adoption', they demonstrate the benefits of a cross-cultural appreciation of family life, and allow a broader understanding of the varied relationships that exist between children and adoptive parents.
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Academic publications [245263]
- Faculty of Social Sciences [30345]
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