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Health, Culture and Religion in South Asia brings together top international scholars from a range of social science disciplines to critically explore the interplay of local cultural and religious practices in the delivery and experiences of health in South Asia. This groundbreaking text provides much needed insight into the relationships between health, culture, community, livelihood, and the nation-state, and in particular, the recent struggles of disadvantaged groups to gain access to health care in South Asia. The book brings together anthropologists, sociologists, economists, health researchers and development specialists to provide the reader with an interdisciplinary approach to the study of South Asian health and a comprehensive understanding of cutting edge research in this area. Addressing key issues affecting a range of geographical areas including India, Nepal and Pakistan, this text will be essential reading for students and researchers interested in Asian Studies and for those interested in gaining a better understanding of health in developing countries. This book was published as a special issue of South Asian History and Culture.

Technologies of Sexuality, Identity and Sexual Health highlights the complex ways in which sexuality is expressed and enacted through local ideologies, global identities and material cultures, and their influence on people’s sexual health and well-being. Its impetus is the renewed interest in technology and the ‘social life of things,’ including pharmaceuticals, expanded sexual and related surgery, the growing exploitation of markets for sexual and contraceptive products, and the impact of these on sexual and health practices and outcomes. Organised loosely into three parts, the opening chapters concentrate on female contraception, its availability, and the varied cultural significance attached to the ability to control its use, exploring the politics of reproductive health and birth control, and the ties between technology and power. The middle section turns its attention to men, and the impact of traditional and contemporary concerns about masculinity, and the social and sexual roles of men. The final chapters look at the commonalities across cultural borders and sexual gendered identities – how products and procedures travel, not only through the formal channels of globalisation, but also informally, carried by individuals across cultural and social boundaries through sexual, social and commercial interactions. The volume brings together anthropologists, sociologists and cultural studies scholars, both senior and emerging, from around the globe. Offering an important and topical contribution to the developing global literature on sexuality, sexual identity, culture and health, it is of interest to researchers and advanced students in these areas.

This book, based on extensive, original research, details the changing lives of youth living in slum communities (bustees) in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). Using young people’s own photos, art and narratives, the book explores how Muslim girls and young women are contributing to, and impacted by, changing youth culture in India. We are invited into the risky world of mixed-sex dance taking place in clandestine spaces in the slums. We join young people on their journeys to find premarital romance and witness their strategic and savvy risk taking when participating in transgressive aspects of consumer culture. The book reveals how social changes in India, including greater education and employment opportunities, as well as powerful middle class Muslim reform discourses, are impacting youth the very local level. More than just fantasy we see that Bollywood is an important role model which young people consult. By carefully negotiating risks and performing multiple identities inspired by modernity, globalization and, most of all, Bollywood culture, young people actively participate in a changing India and disrupt dominant discourses about slum youth as poor victims who are excluded from social change.

This expansive survey spotlights pervasive issues affecting girls’ and women’s sexual and reproductive health across the lifecourse. Research from diverse countries around the world analyzes the complex relationships among biological, psychological, sociocultural, and economic issues—particularly in terms of inequities—as they shape women’s lives. Major challenges and possibilities for intervention are examined in their national context and with their global implications, including child marriage/motherhood, reproductive care and access, fertility, childbearing, contraception, abortion, HIV/STIs, gender-based violence, sexual pleasure, and menopause. In these forceful dispatches, a consistent human rights perspective emphasizes women’s control, autonomy, and agency in all stages of their lives. A sampling of topics covered: Girl child marriage: a persistent global women’s health and human rights violation Investigating challenges and resilience among women living with obstetric fistula in Kenya A qualitative exploration of mainstream and social media reflections on abortion A continuum of severity of sexual intimate partner violence among black women in the United States Economic empowerment to improve sexual and reproductive health among women and girls Summarizing an interdisciplinary field on research and practical levels, Global Perspectives on Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Across the Lifecourse will be an invaluable text for undergraduate and graduate courses in a wide range of fields, including public health, global health, women’s studies, sociology, anthropology, gender studies, and human rights.

The Oxford Handbook of Prevention in Counseling Psychology presents a lifespan approach to prevention that emphasizes strengths of individuals and communities, integrates multicultural and social justice perspectives, and includes best practices in the prevention of a variety of psychological problems in particular populations.