Anthropological Perspectives on Kinship

In this volume Ladislav Holy considers the extent to which overridingly Western assumptions have guided anthropological studies of kinship. This is the first introductory text on the subject to consider changes in the conceptualisation of kinship brought about by new reproductive technologies and the growing interest in culturally specific notions of personhood and gender. Holy reveals a growing sensitivity on the part of anthropologists to individual ideas of personhood and gender, and encourages further critical reflection on cultural bias in approaches to the subject. Linking kinship with wider debates in anthropology and the social sciences in a lucid, jargon free study, Anthropological Perspectives on Kinship is an invaluable introduction to current practice for specialists and non-specialists alike.

Ladislav Holy is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews.