Understanding trends, transitions and perceptions of fertility and family planning in a fragile context : South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo

This doctoral thesis illustrates how reproduction evolves as a social process profoundly influenced by but also as an instigator of socio-cultural, economic, political, health and personal lived realities and change. Using a mixed methods approach, this study demonstrates how the social-embeddedness of fertility is manifested in practice and lived reality in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo: the introduction of contraceptive technologies has altered and shifted power dynamics and possibilities while also raising new socio-cultural and political questions, concerns and uncertainties. Rather than simplifying reproductive realities in South Kivu this work accomplishes the very opposite: rousing and highlighting the complexities underlying, moving, shaping and influencing fertility, family planning discourse and contraceptive use. Findings form a coherent narrative illustrating where reproduction, fertility and family planning are embedded at the intersection of four conceptual categories: the individual (women and men of reproductive age, individual members of kinship networks who stand to benefit from another’s fertility, health providers and religious leaders); society, community and relationships (conjugal and sexual partners, kinship and social networks); institutions (the State, the health system, religious communities and doctrines); and the broader context (political climate, environment and land, safety and security). This thesis describes how these categories are interconnected and mutually constitutive but also fluid and dynamic – and highly influential. Fertility, reproduction, family planning and contraception sit at the intersection of health, rights and gendered and global power dynamics. The framing of these spaces has far reaching implications for global health discourses, strategies, outcomes and justice movements – the most tangible of which are seen in the shaping of the reproductive choices and realities of women in South Kivu and beyond

Calculating Intersections: The Crossroads of Mathematics and Literature in the Lives of Mother and Daughter

This article tells the stories of how we, Della (mom, mathematician) and Hannah (daughter, writing instructor and bookseller), arrived in our professional settings through the lens of mother and daughter. For us, the intersections of literature and mathematics inspired many of our pivotal moments

China-U.S. Relations

This report discusses the background information and most recent development in U.S.-China relations since mid-1996. Since the early 1990s, U.S.-China relations have followed an uneven course, with modest improvements overshadowed by various recurring difficulties and setbacks. Longstanding bilateral difficulties have included U.S. problems with the PRC’s worsening human rights record, growing tensions over the PRC’s southern military build-up opposite Taiwan and Taiwan’s political status, and continued controversy over allegations of Chinese proliferation of weapons to unstable regimes

108th Congress

The purpose of this report is to provide background for and summarize current developments in U.S. - People’s Republic of China (PRC) relations, including current and pending congressional actions involving the PRC

China-U.S. Relations: Current Issues and Implications for U.S. Policy

The bilateral relationship between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China (PRC) is vitally important, touching on a wide range of areas including, among others, economic policy, security, foreign relations, and human rights. This report addresses relevant policy questions in current U.S.-China relations, discusses trends and key legislation in the current Congress, and provides a chronology of developments and high-level exchanges

China-U.S. Relations: Current Issues and Implications for U.S. Policy

Throughout much of the George W. Bush Administration, U.S.-China relations have remained unusually smooth and stable. But U.S. policy toward China now appears to be subject to competing reassessments. State Department officials late in 2005 unveiled what they described as a new policy framework for the relationship -- one in which the United States was willing to work cooperatively with a non-democratic China while encouraging Beijing to become a "responsible stakeholder" in the global system. Other U.S. policymakers appear to be adopting somewhat tougher stances on issues involving China and U.S.-China relations, expressing their concerns about strong PRC economic growth and a more assertive and influential PRC diplomacy in the international arena