As old as the prehistoric bones jumbled in caves, as new as the latest union consummated in a test tube, the family in one form or another is at the heart of every society. Our most common institution, it is also the source of some of the world's most compelling and persistent questions, touching the very quick of history, anthropology, psychology, and sociology. A History of the Family is the first work to address all these aspects of the family over time and across the earth--to search out what the family means in its most particular and universal senses. This monumental work in two volumes brings together experts from every discipline to show what the study of each epoch has to tell us about the family. Why is the family universal and yet so different in its various cultural manifestations? What notions of kinship regulate it, and how do these develop and change? Françoise Zonabend's anthropological perspective on these questions, leading off Volume I, surveys familial terms and arrangements from familiar patrilinear models to matrilinear societies in Sumatra and Ghana to polyandry among the Nayar and the Toda of India. The following essays, which move from prehistory to antiquity to the middle ages, trace the evolution of the family from primate behavior to codified practices--in Sumer and Babylon and ancient Rome, in feudal Europe and medieval Byzantium, in China and Japan and Arab Islam--and relate these developments to religious, economic, and governmental concerns from land ownership to dynastic control and the maintenance of public order.

Drawing on the expertise of 26 distinguished scholars, this important volume covers the major issues in the study of medieval Europe, highlighting the significant impact the time period had on cultural forms and institutions central to European identity. Examines changing approaches to the study of medieval Europe, its periodization, and central themes Includes coverage of important questions such as identity and the self, sexuality and gender, emotionality and ethnicity, as well as more traditional topics such as economic and demographic expansion; kingship; and the rise of the West Explores Europe’s understanding of the wider world to place the study of the medieval society in a global context

New approaches to the study of the family in antiquity.

GENDER IN HISTORY Praise for the first edition: “Wiesner-Hanks ... accomplishes a near-impossible feat - a review of what is known about the construction of gender and the character of women’s lives in all known cultures over the course of human history .... Theoretically sophisticated and doing justice to the historical and cross-cultural record, yet assimilable by students.” Choice “Gender in History brilliantly explores the influence of gender constructs in political, social, economic, and cultural affairs. The remarkable cultural, geographical, and chronological range of Wiesner-Hanks’ research is matched only by the sophistication, nuance, and clarity of her analysis. This book offers a rare and valuable global perspective on gender roles in human history.” Jerry H. Bentley, University of Hawaii Over the past two decades, considerations of gender have revolutionized the study of history. Yet most books on the subject remain narrowly focused on a specific time period or particular region of the world. Gender in History: Global Perspectives, Second Edition, continues to redress this inequity by providing a concise overview of the construction of gender in many world cultures over a period stretching from the Paleolithic era to modern times. Thoroughly updated to reflect current developments in the field, the new edition features entirely new sections which address primates, slavery, colonialism, masculinity, transgender issues, and other relevant topics. As in the well-received first edition, material is presented thematically to reveal the connections between gender and structures such as the family, economy, law, religion, sexuality, and the state. Wiesner-Hanks also investigates precisely what it meant to be a man or woman throughout history; how these roles were shaped by various institutions; and how they in turn were influenced by gender. The author presents material within each chapter chronologically to highlight the ways in which gender structures have varied over time. The new edition of Gender in History: Global Perspectives offers rich insights into all that is currently known about gender roles throughout world history. A companion website is available at www.wiley.com/go/wiesnerhanks

Now revised and updated throughout, Diana Garland's core text for ministers and others in the helping professions provides a comprehensive look at the Christian purpose of family and the complex world our families inhabit.

This is a new analysis of the 'daughters' in the Gospel of Mark . Betsworth analyzes the 'daughters' in the Gospel of Mark : the woman from the crowd - whom Jesus calls daughter, Jairus' daughter (5:21-43), Herodias' daughter (6:14-29), and the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman (7:24-30). To demonstrate how the Gospel's first century audience may have heard these stories, Betsworth begins by examining 'daughters' in their ancient Mediterranean context. Betsworth then considers representations of daughters in select texts from the Septuagint and Greco-Roman literature - from the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.E. to the second century C.E. Although these depictions seem to be in contrast to the social-historical construction of daughters, Betsworth shows that in many ways the literary portrayals of daughters function to uphold the values of Greco-Roman culture - especially those of virginity before and faithfulness in marriage. These two lines of enquiry undergird Betsworth's investigation. From it she is able to show that the 'daughters' in the Gospel uphold the values of the 'reign of God', as an integral part of the Gospel's inclusive social vision of God's reign. This title was formerly the Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement , a book series that explores the many aspects of New Testament study including historical perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and theological, cultural and contextual approaches.