The Cultural Politics of Reproduction

Charting the experiences of migrant communities, the volume examines the relationship between movement, reproduction, and health. Informed by research in Europe, Britain, South and East Asia, Canada and Northern America, the chapters examine how healthcare experiences of migrants are embedded in their own worldviews and influenced by wider state systems.

Maya Unnithan-Kumar is Professor of Social and Medical Anthropology at the University of Sussex. Her research interests are in the anthropology of the body, childbirth and infertility, reproductive technologies, mobility, health inequalities and human rights. Her recent research was funded by the Economic and Social Sciences Research Council focused on State and civil society understandings of reproductive rights and their application to health policy and programs in India.

Sunil K. Khanna is a Professor of International Health in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University. His recent research project addresses the new reproductive technology for the purpose of prenatal sex determination and sex selection in urbanizing north India. He is the author of Fetal/Fatal Knowledge: New Reproductive Technologies and Family-Building Strategies in India.

Maya Unnithan-Kumar is Professor of Social and Medical Anthropology at the University of Sussex. Her research interests are in the anthropology of the body, childbirth and infertility, reproductive technologies, mobility, health inequalities and human rights. Her recent research was funded by the Economic and Social Sciences Research Council focused on State and civil society understandings of reproductive rights and their application to health policy and programs in India.

“This is a welcome addition to the literature on both migration and reproduction, bringing together in interesting ways the causes and consequences of forcible or agentive movement upon birth practices, plans, and outcomes…Overall, the chapters complement each other… providing a nice mix of ethnographic breadth and detailed analysis.” · Perveez Mody, King’s College, Cambridge

“The phenomena that the volume addresses are complex, multi-faceted, timely and cutting-edge… Not only are these debates at the centre of anthropological inquiry, the strength of this volume lies precisely in its utility for both the humanities and the social sciences, while the writing is clear and appropriate for both advanced undergraduates and postgraduate students.” · Anastasia Christou, Middlesex University