Dossier "anthropology and kinship" foreword

Márcio Silva, Adriana Piscitelli
2011 Vibrant: Virtual Brazilian Anthropology  
It would be somewhat redundant to state again that the study of kinship lies at the heart of anthropology. Yet there is a hiatus between the studies of societies we might call complex and those we may term exotic. The advantages of an interchange between studies of kinship in complex and exotic societies are clear to us and lie behind the motives for organizing this dossier. What we had in mind was, in the spirit of interdisciplinary within anthropology to bring together researchers of kinship
more » ... ho generally don't meet one another in scientific events. While the articles are quite distinct in terms of the problems raised and the subjects and research methods they are presented here together in the hope that proximity between them will lead to understandings, which would not emerge were they to be looked at separately. This dossier is therefore an attempt to give rein to new encounters. The labels of complex and exotic were not chosen at random: such adjectives are not antonyms and nor are the problems raised in articles that have been forged in the two traditions. The dossier is composed of fourteen articles based on ethnographic research, of which ten look at kinship in complex societies and four in exotic societies. Written originally in 1970, Antonio Augusto Arantes Neto's article presents a structural analysis of ritual kinship (compadrio) among peasant communities in the backlands of Bahia. Written under the supervision of Edmund Leach but never before published, it includes as postscript correspondence between the author and his supervisor. Débora Allebrandt compares discussions on international adoption and assisted reproduction to reflect upon kinship theories that contribute to the understanding of tensions present in notions of the family and conceptions of what is considered natural. Flávio Tarnovski, who conducted research among homosexual parents in France looks at the specificities of co-parenthood among gays and lesbians. Juliane Bazzo examines the tensions between kinship, rights over territory, and state controls over the environment in a small fishing community in the state of Paraná in an area that is suffering from intense natural erosion. Andréa Lobo's paper is based on research in Cabo Verde. Paying particular 68
doi:10.1590/s1809-43412011000200004 fatcat:dsc2zxt6nzcbbjldcqxmpcpdpq