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Haunting Images: A Cultural Account of Selective Reproduction in Vietnam
Tine M. Gammeltoft
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Description for Haunting Images: A Cultural Account of Selective Reproduction in Vietnam
Paperback. Based on years of careful ethnographic fieldwork in Hanoi, this book offers an account of the moral quandaries that accompany innovations in biomedical technology. Arguing for more sustained anthropological attention to human quests for belonging, it addresses existential questions of love and loss that concern us all. Num Pages: 336 pages, 10 black & white photographs. BIC Classification: 1FMV; JFSJ; JHMC. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 229 x 153 x 21. Weight in Grams: 474.
Based on fieldwork conducted in Hanoi, Haunting Images explores how Vietnamese families handle the difficult decisions presented by new reproductive technologies. At the center of the book are case studies of thirty pregnant women whose fetuses were labeled "abnormal" after an ultrasound examination. By following these women and their relatives through the painful process of reproductive decision-making, Tine M. Gammeltoft offers both intimate ethnographic insights into day-to-day lives in a Southeast Asian country and a sophisticated theoretical exploration of how subjectivities are forged in the face of moral assessments and demands. Across the globe, ultrasonography and other technologies for prenatal screening offer prospective parents new information and present them with agonizing decisions never faced in the past. For anthropologists, this diagnostic capability raises important questions about individuality and collectivity, responsibility and choice. Based on this work in Vietnam, Gammeltoft argues that in order to comprehend how life-and-death decisions are made, anthropologists must pay closer attention to human quests for belonging.
Product Details
Publisher
University of California Press
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2014
Condition
New
Number of Pages
336
Place of Publication
Berkerley, United States
ISBN
9780520278431
SKU
V9780520278431
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 15 to 20 working days
Ref
99-2
About Tine M. Gammeltoft
Tine M. Gammeltoft is Professor of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen. She is on the Editorial Advisory Board for the journal Reproductive Health Matters.
Reviews for Haunting Images: A Cultural Account of Selective Reproduction in Vietnam
"This deft and often moving volume makes a signature contribution to the growing anthropological literature on Vietnam ... Keenly observed and compellingly written."
Martha Lincoln Medicine Anthropology Theory "Beautifully written ... of interest to scholar's in Asian, women's, and gender studies and anthropology, reproductive health, and disability studies." CHOICE "This is a powerful, haunting cultural account of selective reproduction in Vietnam. I encourage each reader to think through what this means and what this tells us about pregnancy management throughout the world."
Barbara Katz Rothman Sociology of Health & Illness "This is a moving ethnography that 'haunts' the reader long thereafter... Daring and promising."
Catalina Tesar Social Anthropology "Powerful, heart-wrenching, and beautifully written ... As anthropology, the book is also a fine example of the ethnographer's craft... Highly recommended."
Erik Harms Journal of Southeast Asian Studies "Fascinating and powerful ... Haunting Images is an outstanding piece of scholarship that brings new dimensions to thinking about key themes in social theory."
Tsipy Ivry Medical Antrhopology Quarterly "Beautifully written ... a must read."
Ann Marie Leshkowich American Ethnologist
Martha Lincoln Medicine Anthropology Theory "Beautifully written ... of interest to scholar's in Asian, women's, and gender studies and anthropology, reproductive health, and disability studies." CHOICE "This is a powerful, haunting cultural account of selective reproduction in Vietnam. I encourage each reader to think through what this means and what this tells us about pregnancy management throughout the world."
Barbara Katz Rothman Sociology of Health & Illness "This is a moving ethnography that 'haunts' the reader long thereafter... Daring and promising."
Catalina Tesar Social Anthropology "Powerful, heart-wrenching, and beautifully written ... As anthropology, the book is also a fine example of the ethnographer's craft... Highly recommended."
Erik Harms Journal of Southeast Asian Studies "Fascinating and powerful ... Haunting Images is an outstanding piece of scholarship that brings new dimensions to thinking about key themes in social theory."
Tsipy Ivry Medical Antrhopology Quarterly "Beautifully written ... a must read."
Ann Marie Leshkowich American Ethnologist