32 research outputs found
The Question of Kinship: Bodies and Narratives in the Beta Israel-European Encounter (1860-1920)
Jeremy Stolow. Orthodox by Design: Judaism, Print Politics, and the ArtScroll Revolution. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010. xvii, 265 pp.
âLiving with the Timesâ: Historical Context in the Wartime Writings of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira
Blessing unintended pregnancy
Within public health and medical anthropology research, the study of womenâs agency in reproductive decision making often neglects the role of religion and womenâs spirituality. This article is based on ethnographic research conducted at a shelter for homeless (mostly African American) mothers in the southeastern United States. We explore the inadequacy of rational choice models that emphasize intentionality and planning, which our research shows are in tension with the vernacular religious and moral ethos of pregnancy as a âblessingâ or unplanned gift. Our findings confirm that young and disadvantaged women may view pregnancy and motherhood as opportunities to improve their lives in ways that mediate against their acceptance of family planning models. For these women, the notion of âblessingâ also reflects an acceptance of contingency and indeterminacy as central to the reproductive experience. We also question the increasingly popular distinction between âreligionâ and âspiritualityâ in contemporary public health