Difficult Attachments

Anxieties of Kinship and Care
Anthropologists have long considered kinship as the basis for social solidarity. Indeed, the idea that kinship is grounded in positive sociality has found its way into most anthropological accounts and has served as an orienting framework directing decades of scholarly research. But what about when it is not? What about instances when kinship is anything but ‘warm and fuzzy’ but is characterized, instead, by neglect, violence, negative affect, or a lack of nurturance and care? In the three interlinked sections of this volume, the view that kinship is about “solidarity” and “care” is challenged by exploring how kin relations are not only about connection and inclusion but also about disconnection, exclusion, neglect, and violence. Kinship relationships that feel “positive” and “good” take a great deal of perseverance and work; there is nothing “natural” about kinship ties as being based on positive sociality. In these chapters, the contributors take seriously the contingency of kinship relations (the moments when kinship breaks down or is a source of suffering) and how this prompts scholars to develop new theoretical and methodological perspectives.

Contributor: Kathryn E. Goldfarb (Contributions by), Sandra Bamford (Contributions by), Janelle S. Taylor (Contributions by), Jason Danely (Contributions by), Celeste Pang (Contributions by), Danilyn Rutherford (Contributions by), Noa Vaisman (Contributions by), Erika Finestone (Contributions by), Dawa Lokyitsang (Contributions by), Riché J. Daniel Barnes (Contributions by), Deborah A. Boehm (Contributions by), Katie Kilroy-Marac (Contributions by), Patrick McKenzie (Contributions by), Brady G’Sell (Contributions by), Julia Kowalski (Contributions by), Sonia Yuhui Zhang (Contributions by), Michael Lambek (Contributions by), Kathryn E. Goldfarb (Edited by), Sandra Bamford (Edited by), Marilyn Strathern (Afterword by)

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.