The Anthropology of Moralities (Fertility, Reproduction and Se)

Anthropologists have been keenly aware of the tension between cultural relativism and absolute norms, and nowhere has this been more acute than with regards to moral values. Can we study the Other’s morality without applying our own normative judgments? How do social anthropologists keep both the distance required by science and the empathy required for the analysis of lived experiences? The plurality of moralities has not received an explicit and focused attention until recently, when accelerated globalization often resulted in the collision of different value systems. Observing, describing and assessing values cross-culturally, the authors propose various methodological approaches to the study of moralities, illustrated with rich ethnographic accounts, thus offering a valuable guide for students of anthropology, sociology and cultural studies and for professionals concerned with the empirical and cross-cultural study of values. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION: WHY THERE SHOULD BE AN ANTHROPOLOGY OF MORALITIES Chapter 2 NORM AND SPONTANEITY: ELICITATION WITH MORAL DILEMMA SCENARIOS Chapter 3 LIFE HISTORY AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: THE MORAL CONCEPTIONS OF A MUSCOVITE MAN Chapter 4 MORALITY, VALUE AND RADICAL CULTURAL CHANGE Chapter 5 ACCELERATED GLOBALISATION AND THE CONFLICTS OF VALUES SEEN THROUGH THE LENS OF TRANSNATIONAL ADOPTION: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Chapter 6 MORALITY, SELF AND POWER: THE IDEA OF THE MAHALLA IN UZBEKISTAN Chapter 7 MORALISING FEMALE SEXUALITY: THE INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN MORALITY AND SEXUALITY IN RURAL VIETNAM Chapter 8 NARRATIVE ETHICS: THE EXCESS OF GIVING AND MORAL AMBIGUITY IN THE LAO VESSANTARA-JATAKA Chapter 9 ADOPTING AN OBLIGATION: MORAL REASONING ABOUT BOUGAINVILLEAN CHILDREN’S ACCESS TO SOCIAL SERVICES IN NEW IRELAND Chapter 10 BETWEEN FACTS AND NORMS: TOWARDS AN ANTHROPOLOGY OF ETHICAL PRACTICE REFERENCES NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS INDEX