This new edition of Sarah Franklin's classic monograph on the development of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) includes two entirely new chapters reflecting on the relevance of the book's findings in the context of the past two decades and providing a 'state-of-the-art' review of the field today. Over the past 25 years, both the assisted conception industry and the academic field of reproductive studies have grown enormously. IVF, in particular, is belatedly becoming recognised as one of the most influential technologies of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, with a far-reaching set of implications that have to date been underestimated, understudied and under-reported. This pioneering text was the first to explore the emergence of commercial IVF in the United Kingdom, where the technique was originally developed. During the 1980s, the British Parliament devised a unique system of comprehensive national regulation of assisted reproduction amidst fractious public and media debate over IVF and embryo research. Franklin chronicles these developments and explores their significance in relation to classic anthropological debates about the meanings of kinship, gender and the 'biological facts' of parenthood. Drawing on extensive personal interviews with women and couples undergoing IVF, as well as ethnographic fieldword in early IVF clinics, the book explores the unique demands of the IVF technique. In richly detailed chapters, it documents the 'topsy-turvy' world of IVF, and how the experience of undergoing IVF changes its users in ways they had not anticipated. Franklin argues that such experiences reveal a crucial feature of translational biomedical procedures more widely - namely, that these are 'hope technologies' that paradoxically generate new uncertainties and risks in the very space of their supposed resolution. The final chapter closely engages with the 'hope technology' concept, as well as the idea of 'having to try' and uses these frames to link contemporary reproductive studies to core sociological and anthropological arguments about economy, society and technology. In the context of rapid fertility decline and huge growth in the fertility industry, this volume is even more relevant today than when it was first published at the dawn of what Franklin calls the era of 'iFertility'. Embodied Progress is an essential read for all social science academics and students with an interested in the burgeoning new field of reproductive studies. It is also a valuable resource for practitioners working in the fields of reproductive health, biomedicine and policy.

This new edition of Sarah Franklin's classic monograph on the development of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) includes two entirely new chapters reflecting on the relevance of the book's findings in the context of the past two decades and providing a 'state-of-the-art' review of the field today. Over the past 25 years, both the assisted conception industry and the academic field of reproductive studies have grown enormously. IVF, in particular, is belatedly becoming recognised as one of the most influential technologies of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, with a far-reaching set of implications that have to date been underestimated, understudied and under-reported. This pioneering text was the first to explore the emergence of commercial IVF in the United Kingdom, where the technique was originally developed. During the 1980s, the British Parliament devised a unique system of comprehensive national regulation of assisted reproduction amidst fractious public and media debate over IVF and embryo research. Franklin chronicles these developments and explores their significance in relation to classic anthropological debates about the meanings of kinship, gender and the 'biological facts' of parenthood. Drawing on extensive personal interviews with women and couples undergoing IVF, as well as ethnographic fieldword in early IVF clinics, the book explores the unique demands of the IVF technique. In richly detailed chapters, it documents the 'topsy-turvy' world of IVF, and how the experience of undergoing IVF changes its users in ways they had not anticipated. Franklin argues that such experiences reveal a crucial feature of translational biomedical procedures more widely - namely, that these are 'hope technologies' that paradoxically generate new uncertainties and risks in the very space of their supposed resolution. The final chapter closely engages with the 'hope technology' concept, as well as the idea of 'having to try' and uses these frames to link contemporary reproductive studies to core sociological and anthropological arguments about economy, society and technology. In the context of rapid fertility decline and huge growth in the fertility industry, this volume is even more relevant today than when it was first published at the dawn of what Franklin calls the era of 'iFertility'. Embodied Progress is an essential read for all social science academics and students with an interested in the burgeoning new field of reproductive studies. It is also a valuable resource for practitioners working in the fields of reproductive health, biomedicine and policy.

The Sociology of Gender combines 21 classic articles on this important topic with a broad-ranging editorial introduction. Emphasizing the categorical function of 'gender' as a social technology, this volume develops a unique approach to one of the most important areas of late twentieth century sociological thought.Combining accessible and specialized contributions to the sociology of gender, The Sociology of Gender demonstrates the vitality and breadth of gender theory within the social sciences as a whole. The book comprises a unique contribution to gender theory in its own right, while also providing an up- to-date and coherent selection of many of the key articles from the past 20 years addressed to sex and gender categories.

Procreation is not just about how human beings come into being - it is also about how relationships come into being. Consequently changes in procreative practice will have repercussions for thinking about the formation of such relationships. What are the cultural and anthropological understandings of new reproductive technologies? Using evidence from cross-disciplinary research carried out in 1990-1991 this text tackles debates relating to the concept of kinship. When first published in 1993, "Technologies of Procreation" introduced many new insights into the anthropological issues associated with these new technologies. In what way do they affect society? What are the effects of the embryo's recent treatment as an individual? What does it mean to be "interfering with nature"? What are the consequences of an increase in multiple births? This text aims to bridge the gap between medical technology and cultural values.

Procreation is not just about how human beings come into being - it is also about how relationships come into being. Consequently changes in procreative practice will have repercussions for thinking about the formation of such relationships. What are the cultural and anthropological understandings of new reproductive technologies? Using evidence from cross-disciplinary research carried out in 1990-1991 this work tackles key debates relating to the concept of kinship.
When first published in 1993, Technologies of Procreation introduced many new insights into the anthropological issues associated with these new technologies. In what way do they affect society? What are the effects of the embryo's recent treatment as an individual? What does it mean to be 'interfering with nature'? What are the consequences of an increase in multiple births?
This book successfully bridges the gap between medical technology and cultural values. Now available in paperback, it is a welcome addition to the growing field of medical anthropology. This book will prove invaluable to academics and practitioners alike interested in the current debates surrounding recent technologies in assisted conception.

An anthology of recent work in the spheres of feminism and cultural studies, this text is divided into three areas, namely representation and ideology, science and technology, and Thatcherism and the enterprise culture. The authors argue for the amalgamation of these areas in the analysis of contemporary culture, stating that this combination would be of value. Students of cultural studies, women's studies, sociology, film studies, literature and popular culture may find this book of interest.

'The kind of book that gives you hope and courage. I loved it' Kit de Waal 'Insightful, thoughtful' Carys Bray 'I relished every word' Shelley Harris 'Such a warm and touching novel' Lissa Evans A moving and courageous exploration of belonging and finding home in a rapidly-changing world from the critically acclaimed author of Shelter. Jo grew up in the Forest of Dean, but she was always the one destined to leave for a bigger, brighter future. When her parents retire from their butcher's shop, she returns to her beloved community to save the family legacy, hoping also to save herself. But things are more complex than the rose-tinted version of life which sustained Jo from afar. Tessa is a farrier, shoeing horses two miles and half a generation away from Jo, further into the forest. Tessa's experience of the community couldn't be more different. Now she too has returned, in flight from a life she could have led, nursing a secret and a past filled with guilt and shame. Compelled through circumstance to live together, these two women will be forced to confront their sense of identity, and reconsider the meaning of home.

First published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Reading Hindi: Novice to Intermediate is an innovative collection of graded readings that are both accessible in language and engaging in content, specifically designed for adult learners of Hindi. Ideal for those just starting out in Hindi, the texts provide culturally rich content written in simple, level-appropriate language, with a range of activities to reinforce learning. The graded readings support the learner as they build their confidence with the language, gradually encountering a wider range of grammar constructions and vocabulary as the book progresses. Reading Hindi can be used alongside a main textbook and is ideal for both class-use and independent study.

Are new reproductive and genetic technologies racing ahead of a society that is unable to establish limits to their use? Have the "new genetics" outpaced our ability to control their future applications? This book examines the case of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), the procedure used to prevent serious genetic disease by embryo selection, and the so-called "designer baby" method. Using detailed empirical evidence, the authors show that far from being a runaway technology, the regulation of PGD over the past fifteen years provides an example of precaution and restraint, as well as continual adaptation to changing social circumstances. Through interviews, media and policy analysis, and participant observation at two PGD centers in the United Kingdom, "Born and Made" provides an in-depth sociological examination of the competing moral obligations that define the experience of PGD.

Among the many novel findings of this pathbreaking ethnography of reproductive biomedicine is the prominence of uncertainty and ambivalence among PGD patients and professionals--a finding characteristic of the emerging "biosociety," in which scientific progress is inherently paradoxical and contradictory. In contrast to much of the speculative futurology that defines this field, "Born and Made" provides a timely and revealing case study of the on-the-ground decision-making that shapes technological assistance to human heredity.

Reading Hindi: Novice to Intermediate is an innovative collection of graded readings that are both accessible in language and engaging in content, specifically designed for adult learners of Hindi. Ideal for those just starting out in Hindi, the texts provide culturally rich content written in simple, level-appropriate language, with a range of activities to reinforce learning. The graded readings support the learner as they build their confidence with the language, gradually encountering a wider range of grammar constructions and vocabulary as the book progresses. Reading Hindi can be used alongside a main textbook and is ideal for both class-use and independent study.

The boundaries of life now occupy a place of central concern among biological anthropologists. Because of the centrality of the modern biological definition of life to Euro-American medicine and anthropology, the definition of life itself and its contestation exemplify competing uses of knowledge. On the one hand, "life" and "death" may be redefined as partial or contingent ("brain death"), or reconstituted altogether ("virtual" or "artificial life"). On the other hand, the finality and "reality" of death resists such classifications. This volume reflects a growing international concern about issues such as organ transplantation, new reproductive and genetic technologies and embryo research, and the necessity of cross-cultural comparison. The political economy of body parts, organ and tissue "harvesting," bio-prospecting, and the patenting of life-forms are explored herein, as well as governance and regulation in cloning, organ transplantation, tissue engineering, and artificial life systems procedures.

Thirty-five years after its initial success as a form of technologically assisted human reproduction, and five million miracle babies later, in vitro fertilization (IVF) has become a routine procedure worldwide. In Biological Relatives, Sarah Franklin explores how the normalization of IVF has changed how both technology and biology are understood. Drawing on anthropology, feminist theory, and science studies, Franklin charts the evolution of IVF from an experimental research technique into a global technological platform used for a wide variety of applications, including genetic diagnosis, livestock breeding, cloning, and stem cell research. She contends that despite its ubiquity, IVF remains a highly paradoxical technology that confirms the relative and contingent nature of biology while creating new biological relatives. Using IVF as a lens, Franklin presents a bold and lucid thesis linking technologies of gender and sex to reproductive biomedicine, contemporary bioinnovation, and the future of kinship.

The essays in "Relative Values" draw on new work in anthropology, science studies, gender theory, critical race studies, and postmodernism to offer a radical revisioning of kinship and kinship theory. Through a combination of vivid case studies and trenchant theoretical essays, the contributors--a group of internationally recognized scholars--examine both the history of kinship theory and its future, at once raising questions that have long occupied a central place within the discipline of anthropology and moving beyond them.
Ideas about kinship are vital not only to understanding but also to forming many of the practices and innovations of contemporary society. How do the cultural logics of contemporary biopolitics, commodification, and globalization intersect with kinship practices and theories? In what ways do kinship analogies inform scientific and clinical practices; and what happens to kinship when it is created in such unfamiliar sites as biogenetic labs, new reproductive technology clinics, and the computers of artificial life scientists? How does kinship constitute--and get constituted by--the relations of power that draw lines of hierarchy and equality, exclusion and inclusion, ambivalence and violence? The contributors assess the implications for kinship of such phenomena as blood transfusions, adoption across national borders, genetic support groups, photography, and the new reproductive technologies while ranging from rural China to mid-century Africa to contemporary Norway and the United States. Addressing these and other timely issues, "Relative Values" injects new life into one of anthropology's most important disciplinary traditions.
Posing these and other timely questions, "Relative Values" injects an important interdisciplinary curiosity into one of anthropology's most important disciplinary traditions.

"Contributors." Mary Bouquet, Janet Carsten, Charis Thompson Cussins, Carol Delaney, Gillian Feeley-Harnik, Sarah Franklin, Deborah Heath, Stefan Helmreich, Signe Howell, Jonathan Marks, Susan McKinnon, Michael G. Peletz, Rayna Rapp, Martine Segalen, Pauline Turner Strong, Melbourne Tapper, Karen-Sue Taussig, Kath Weston, Yunxiang Yan

Focusing on the key themes of power, kinship, and technological innovation, this volume offers a set of carefully argued studies that emphasize the importance of ethnographic method, as well as anthropological theory, to current debates about the reproductive processes of humans, animals, and plants. Reproducing Reproduction addresses these debates in a range of sites in which reproduction is being redefined and argues persuasively for a renewed appreciation of the centrality of reproductive politics to cultural and historical change. In chapters on abortion, assisted conception, biodiversity conservation, artificial life sciences, adoption, intellectual property, and prenatal screening, Reproducing Reproduction contends that ideologies of class, nation, health, gender, nature, and kinship have reproductive models at their core. Including prize-winning essays by Charis Cussins and Stefan Helmreich, this volume will be of great interest to a wide audience in the social sciences and health technology fields.

An S Magazine MUST HAVE 'Beautiful' Adele Parks 'Life affirming and compelling!' Clare Mackintosh 'Tender and illuminating' Carys Bray 'Its characters pulse with life and energy . . . vividly rendered' Daily Mail 'Highly recommended' Viv Groskop Spring 1944. As war threatens even the most remote English communities, a trainee lumberjill and an Italian Prisoner of War form a friendship in the Forest of Dean. Both are outsiders. Both are in desperate, unspoken need. Connie Granger arrived in the ancient forest alone. Fleeing tragedy in her devastated city, she hopes the Women's Timber Corps will give her a place of safety, and a place to protect the secret she carries. Seppe is haunted by his memories of combat and loss but is surprised to find a certain liberty in his new surroundings. They discover in each other a means to start again, to find a home. But Connie knows she cannot stay - and soon she must make a life-defining choice . . . But is the price Connie must pay for her freedom too great?

'This atmospheric read is simply beautiful.' Woman & Home How can home be found, when you are lost? When two very different women find themselves sharing a home, they must confront their pasts in order to work out who they each are, and how they will survive. Disillusioned with her high-flying London career, Jo has returned to the remote rural community of her childhood. Taking over her parents' beloved butcher shop, she works hard to save the family legacy, hoping to also save herself. Tessa has returned too, fleeing a chance of happiness to come to terms with a life filled with secrets and shame. Now her livelihood as a farrier is under threat from a mysterious and debilitating condition. How to Belong is a delicate, honest portrayal of unexpected friendship, the power of memory and what it truly means to come home. 'This gentle, thoughtful novel will warm your heart and nourish your soul' Red Magazine '(A) thoughtful, original novel . . . Detailed, descriptive, transporting prose.' Adele Parks, Platinum Magazine 'A big-hearted novel about how we learn to belong despite ourselves.' Shelley Harris 'It really touched me, I can't stop talking about it. Your words spoke to somewhere deep inside me.' Warwick Books

Since 1978, when the first babies conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) were born in the UK and India, assisted reproduction has become a global industry. In The Reproductive Industry: Intimate Experiences and Global Processes the contributors reflect on the global dimensions of IVF and assisted reproductive technologies, examining how people have used these technologies to create diverse family forms, including gay, lesbian, and transgender parenthood and complex configurations of genetic, gestational, and social parenthood. This edited collection examines how IVF and other reproductive technologies have and have not circulated around the globe; how reproductive technologies can be situated historically, nationally, locally, and culturally; and the ways in which culture, practices, regulations, norms, families, and kinship ties may be reinforced or challenged through the use of assisted reproduction.

Understandings of globalization have been little explored in relation to gender or related concerns such as identity, subjectivity and the body. This book contrasts `the natural' and `the global' as interpretive strategies, using approaches from feminist cultural theory. The book begins by introducing the central themes: ideas of the natural; questions of scale and context posed by globalization and their relation to forms of cultural production; the transformation of genealogy; and the emergence of interest in definitions of life and life forms. The authors explores these questions through a number of case studies including Benneton advertising, Jurassic Park, The Body Shop, British Airways, Monsanto and Dolly the Sheep. In order to respecify the `nature, culture and gender' concerns of two decades of feminist theory, this highly original book reflects, hypothesizes and develops new interpretive possibilities within established feminist analytical frames.

Written in the early 1970s amidst widespread debate over the causes of gender inequality, Marilyn Strathern's Before and After Gender was intended as a widely accessible analysis of gender as a powerful cultural code and sex as a defining mythology. But when the series for which it was written unexpectedly folded, the manuscript went into storage, where it remained for more than four decades. This book finally brings it to light, giving the long-lost feminist work--accompanied here by an afterword from Judith Butler--an overdue spot in feminist history. Strathern incisively engages some of the leading feminist thinkers of the time, including Shulamith Firestone, Simone de Beauvoir, Ann Oakley, and Kate Millett. Building with characteristic precision toward a bold conclusion in which she argues that we underestimate the materializing grammars of sex and gender at our own peril, she offers a powerful challenge to the intransigent mythologies of sex that still plague contemporary society. The result is a sweeping display of Strathern's vivid critical thought and an important contribution to feminist studies that has gone unpublished for far too long.

The so-called science wars pit science against culture, and nowhere is the struggle more contentiousOCoor more fraught with paradoxOCothan in the burgeoning realm of genetics. A constructive response, and a welcome intervention, this volume brings together biological and cultural anthropologists to conduct an interdisciplinary dialogue that provokes and instructs even as it bridges the science/culture divide.Individual essays address issues raised by the science, politics, and history of race, evolution, and identity; genetically modified organisms and genetic diseases; gene work and ethics; and the boundary between humans and animals. The result is an entree to the complicated nexus of questions prompted by the power and importance of genetics and genetic thinking, and the dynamic connections linking culture, biology, nature, and technoscience. The volume offers critical perspectives on science and culture, with contributions that span disciplinary divisions and arguments grounded in both biological perspectives and cultural analysis. An invaluable resource and a provocative introduction to new research and thinking on the uses and study of genetics, "Genetic Nature/Culture "is a model of fruitful dialogue, presenting the quandaries faced by scholars on both sides of the two-cultures debate."

'Beautiful' Adele Parks 'Life affirming and compelling!' Clare Mackintosh 'Tender and illuminating' Carys Bray 'Its characters pulse with life and energy . . . vividly rendered' Daily Mail Perfect for fans of Early One Morning by Virginia Baily and the novels of Maggie O'Farrell. Early spring 1944. Connie Granger has escaped her bombed-out city home, finding refuge in the Women's Timber Corps. For her, this remote community must now serve a secret purpose. Seppe, an Italian prisoner of war, is haunted by his memories. In the forest camp, he finds a strange kind of freedom. Their meeting signals new beginnings. But as they are drawn together, the world outside their forest haven is being torn apart. Old certainties are crumbling, and both must now make a life-defining choice. What price will they pay for freedom? What will they fight to protect? What readers are saying about Shelter: 'Tender, moving . . . with its unforgettable heroine' Irish Times 'Powerful and moving. Connie and Seppe are amazing characters. So well nuanced. I loved her feisty courage. And such heartbreak! This compelling debut shows how outsiders in a time of war seek to rebuild their lives again' Essie Fox, author of The Last Days of Leda Grey 'I LOVED it. Seppe is one of the most refreshing portrayals of masculinity I have ever read' Shelley Harris, author of Jubilee 'A lovely hymn to the woods and the men and women who worked there during the Second World War' Lissa Evans, author of Their Finest Hour 'The deeply profound effects of war quietly resonate through Sarah Franklin's gentle but delightful debut. Filled with characters armed with little more than their steadfast resolve and plucky humour, Shelter casts a light on the often forgotten work of the Women's Timber Corps and presents it with charm and delicately refreshing warmth' Jason Hewitt, author of Devastation Road 'A brilliant book. Everyone should read it' Alex Reeve, author of House on Half Moon Street 'Such a treat . . . a super sense of place' Rachael Beale, London Review Bookshop 'Beautifully written . . . Authentic and honest' Roger Deek, 'Reading the Forest' 'An impressive debut' WhatCathyReadNext 'Fresh, moving and redemptive' Literary Sofa 'One of the year's hottest debuts' NetGalley, Book of the Month 'Evocative, beautifully complex characters you grow to adore and a grittiness that grounds you within its message of loss, hope and what home really means' Goodreads 5* review 'The book is really fantastic. It's Sarah Franklin's debut novel but I really hope she's working on her second one right now' NetGalley Reviewer 'A tender, empathetic novel' NetGalley Reviewer 'Spirited, determined and reckless, the Second World War brings Connie the opportunity to seek what she's looking for, but the price for that opportunity is a high one . . . an impressive debut' NetGalley Reviewer

Thirty-five years after its initial success as a form of technologically assisted human reproduction, and five million miracle babies later, in vitro fertilization (IVF) has become a routine procedure worldwide. In "Biological Relatives," Sarah Franklin explores how the normalization of IVF has changed how both technology and biology are understood. Drawing on anthropology, feminist theory, and science studies, Franklin charts the evolution of IVF from an experimental research technique into a global technological platform used for a wide variety of applications, including genetic diagnosis, livestock breeding, cloning, and stem cell research. She contends that despite its ubiquity, IVF remains a highly paradoxical technology that confirms the relative and contingent nature of biology while creating new biological relatives. Using IVF as a lens, Franklin presents a bold and lucid thesis linking technologies of gender and sex to reproductive biomedicine, contemporary bioinnovation, and the future of kinship.

While the creation of Dolly the sheep, the world's most famous clone, triggered an enormous amount of discussion about human cloning, in Dolly Mixtures the anthropologist Sarah Franklin looks beyond that much-rehearsed controversy to some of the other reasons why the iconic animal's birth and death were significant. Building on the work of historians and anthropologists, Franklin reveals Dolly as the embodiment of agricultural, scientific, social, and commercial histories which are, in turn, bound up with national and imperial aspirations. Dolly was the offspring of a long tradition of animal domestication, as well as the more recent histories of capital accumulation through selective breeding, and enhanced national competitiveness through the control of biocapital. Franklin traces Dolly's connections to Britain's centuries-old sheep and wool markets (which were vital to the nation's industrial revolution) and to Britain's export of animals to its colonies-particularly Australia-to expand markets and produce wealth. Moving forward in time, she explains the celebrity sheep's links to the embryonic cell lines and global bioscientific innovation of the late twentieth century and early twenty-first. Franklin combines wide-ranging sources-from historical accounts of sheep-breeding, to scientific representations of cloning by nuclear transfer, to popular media reports of Dolly's creation and birth-as she draws on gender and kinship theory as well as postcolonial and science studies. She argues that there is an urgent need for more nuanced responses to the complex intersections between the social and the biological, intersections which are literally reshaping reproduction and genealogy. In Dolly Mixtures, Franklin uses the renowned sheep as an opportunity to begin developing a critical language to identify and evaluate the reproductive possibilities that post-Dolly biology now faces, and to look back at some of the important historical formations that enabled and prefigured Dollys creation.