Exploring Reproduction

Exploring Reproduction: Anthropological Perspectives introduces students to the dynamic field of the anthropology of reproduction, examining how human reproduction is shaped by cultural, historical, and political forces.

This textbook engages with key issues such as fertility, infertility, assisted reproductive technologies, childbirth, contraception, reproductive governance, genetics, and justice. Drawing on foundational anthropological concepts―like personhood, stratified reproduction, and biopolitics―it introduces students to the various ways in which reproduction intersects with gender, sexuality, kinship, and social institutions. Through case studies and theoretical insights, the book showcases the relevance of anthropological approaches to understanding reproductive health, rights, and policy across diverse contexts.

Exploring Reproduction: Anthropological Perspectives is ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in anthropology, sociology, public health, allied medicine, biology, and related fields exploring reproduction, identity, and power.

Maya Unnithan is Professor of Social and Medical Anthropology at the University of Sussex, UK.

Robbie Davis-Floyd is Fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology and Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at Rice University, USA.

Anindita Majumdar is Associate Professor in the Department of Liberal Arts at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, India.

Richard Powis is Assistant Professor of Maternal and Child Health at the University of South Florida College of Public Health, USA.