In the last fifty years, transnational adoption—specifically, the adoption of Asian children—has exploded in popularity as an alternative path to family making. Despite the cultural acceptance of this practice, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the factors that allowed Asian international adoption to flourish. In Global Families, Catherine Ceniza Choy unearths the little-known historical origins of Asian international adoption in the United States. Beginning with the post-World War II presence of the U.S. military in Asia, she reveals how mixed-race children born of Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese women and U.S. servicemen comprised one of the earliest groups of adoptive children. Based on extensive archival research, Global Families moves beyond one-dimensional portrayals of Asian international adoption as either a progressive form of U.S. multiculturalism or as an exploitative form of cultural and economic imperialism. Rather, Choy acknowledges the complexity of the phenomenon, illuminating both its radical possibilities of a world united across national, cultural, and racial divides through family formation and its strong potential for reinforcing the very racial and cultural hierarchies it sought to challenge.

In Global Families, author Meg Karraker provides family scholars with a methodical introduction to the interdisciplinary field of globalization. Global Families then examines the ways in which globalization impinges on families throughout the world in four major areas: demographic transitions, world-wide culture, international violence, and transnational employment. The book concludes with a discussion of supra-national policies and other efforts to position families in this global landscape.

Publisher description

Learn what trends and factors are influencing families globally How are families the same or different around the world? Families in a Global Context puts the similarities and differences into perspective, presenting an in-depth comparative analysis of family life in 17 countries around the world. Contributors discuss different countries' family life by using a standard framework to review major influences and patterns. The framework allows readers to do comparative reflection across several countries on a variety of daily living elements, including social and economic forces such as urbanization and modernization, changes in gender/courtship/spousal patterns, and war. This book provides an informative illustration of current as well as future trends of family life worldwide. Each chapter in Families in a Global Context describes customary types of family patterns within each country’s social organization and culture. Important social, economic, political, and other trends are explored in detail, and major ethnic, religious, or other subcultures are noted emphasizing marriage and family patterns that differ from the more typical ones. The book is extensively referenced and includes tables to clearly present data. Countries explored in Families in a Global Context include: European countries of Wales, Sweden, Germany, Romania, and Italy African countries of Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Kenya Middle Eastern countries of Turkey and Iran Asian and Oceanian countries of India, China, the Philippines, and Australia Latin American countries of Brazil, Mexico, and Cuba Topics discussed for each country in Families in a Global Context include: demographics mate selection patterns with an emphasis on the dynamics of couple formation marital roles the place and role of children and parenting in families socialization for gender roles differences in education, employment, and other opportunities major stressors affecting families, coping, and adaptation aging and life expectancy issues and much more! Families in a Global Context is an insightful resource for researchers, educators, and advanced undergraduate and graduate students investigating comparative family topics of family life around the world and in cultural context.

As Christians, we belong to not only a diverse global Christian family but also a diverse human family. Todd Johnson, a noted expert on global Christianity and world missions trends, and Cindy Wu show how divisions within these families work against our desire to bring about positive change in the world. They provide an overview of global Christian identity, exploring how we can be faithful to our own tradition while engaging Christians across denominations and be better informed as we work with people of other religions. The book utilizes the latest research data on global Christianity and world religions and includes tables, graphs, charts, and end-of-chapter discussion questions.

With research into the lives of global families becoming an increasing focus worldwide, this Research Handbook is a timely compendium of contemporary scholarship. It aptly describes the work-family interface, delving into the unique dimensions of global family life.

"I don′t know how often I′ve wished for an introductory text on family life which encompassed critical contemporary sociological thinking alongside the basic information students need, and have only found fossilised thinking on a stodgy subject. But now all that has changed. McKie and Callan have achieved what I thought was almost impossible in Understanding Families - a textbook which provides unrivalled foundations for a critical understanding of contemporary families and relationships." - Carol Smart, The Morgan Centre, University of Manchester "This excellent, innovative, comprehensive and easy to read text should be essential reading for everyone keen to understand families across the globe... It will make an outstanding contribution to family studies and is highly recommended." - Janet Walker, Newcastle University "Easy to read text, which debates current thinking surrounding modern families. Case studies and questions for the reader throughout the text help traslate theory into practice." - Justine Gallagher, Northumbria University Families are the core building blocks of society. Our experience of them affects many aspects of our everyday lives shaping our expectations and future plans. Written by experts in family studies and family policy, this clear, engaging book adopts a global perspective to usefully examine how modern families can be explored and understood in research, policy and practice. Packed with critical pedagogy, including case-studies, think points, key words and a glossary, it guides students through topics such as relationships, sexualities and paid and unpaid work, continually returning to its central themes of process and structure. The book also: Applies key social theories to contemporary analysis Examines key studies on researching families and family life Explores the role of government policies and practices This comprehensive introduction to the study of families and relationships is a timely resource for students and lecturers working across the social sciences, particularly students of family studies, the sociology of the family, family policy, and social work and the family Linda McKie is Professor of Sociology, Glasgow Caledonian University; Samantha Callan is based at the Centre for Social Justice. They are both affiliated to the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships at the University of Edinburgh.