Childbirth and authoritative knowledge : cross-cultural perspectives

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

Childbirth and authoritative knowledge : cross-cultural perspectives

edited by Robbie E. Davis-Floyd, Carolyn F. Sargent ; with a foreword by Rayna Rapp

University of California Press, c1997

  • : cl
  • : pbk

Available at  / 22 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

: cl ISBN 9780520206250

Description

This collection of cross-cultural essays on reproduction and childbirth extends the work of Brigitte Jordan, who helped generate and define the field of the anthropology of birth. The authors' focus on authoritative knowledge - the knowledge that counts, on the basis of which decisions are made and actions taken - highlights the vast differences between birthing systems that give authority of knowing to women and their communities and those that invest it in experts and machines. The text presents first-hand ethnographic research conducted by anthropologists in 16 different societies and cultures and includes interdisciplinary perspectives of a social psychologist, a sociologist, an epidemiologist, a staff member of the World Health Organization, and a community midwife.

Table of Contents

CONTRIBUTORS: Grace Bascope, Megan Biesele, Carole Browner, Beverley Chalmers, Elizabeth Davis, Robbie Davis-Floyd, Betty Anne Davis, Deborah Cordero Fiedler, Eugenia Georges, Amara Jambai, Kenneth C. Johnson, Brigitte Jordan, Sheila Kitzinger, Ellen Lazarus, Carol MacCormack, Stacy Leigh Pigg, Nancy Anne Press, Rayna Rapp, Carolyn F. Sargent, Paola M. Sesia, Jane Szurek, Wenda Trevathan, Marsden Wagner
Volume

: pbk ISBN 9780520207851

Description

This benchmark collection of cross-cultural essays on reproduction and childbirth extends and enriches the work of Brigitte Jordan, who helped generate and define the field of the anthropology of birth. The authors' focus on authoritative knowledge--the knowledge that counts, on the basis of which decisions are made and actions taken--highlights the vast differences between birthing systems that give authority of knowing to women and their communities and those that invest it in experts and machines. Childbirth and Authoritative Knowledge offers first-hand ethnographic research conducted by anthropologists in sixteen different societies and cultures and includes the interdisciplinary perspectives of a social psychologist, a sociologist, an epidemiologist, a staff member of the World Health Organization, and a community midwife. Exciting directions for further research as well as pressing needs for policy guidance emerge from these illuminating explorations of authoritative knowledge about birth. This book is certain to follow Jordan's Birth in Four Cultures as the definitive volume in a rapidly expanding field.

Table of Contents

CONTRIBUTORS: Grace Bascope, Megan Biesele, Carole Browner, Beverley Chalmers, Elizabeth Davis, Robbie Davis-Floyd, Betty Anne Davis, Deborah Cordero Fiedler, Eugenia Georges, Amara Jambai, Kenneth C. Johnson, Brigitte Jordan, Sheila Kitzinger, Ellen Lazarus, Carol MacCormack, Stacy Leigh Pigg, Nancy Anne Press, Rayna Rapp, Carolyn F. Sargent, Paola M. Sesia, Jane Szurek, Wenda Trevathan, Marsden Wagner

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