Family, Gender and Kinship in Australia

Allon J. Uhlmann is Assistant Professor in Anthropology at the University of Missouri in St. Louis, USA.

• Chapter 1 Introduction: The Project and the Field; Chapter 2 The Historical Evolution of the Australian Family; Chapter 3 Contemporary Patterns of Family Practice: Historical Continuity and the Myth of Crisis; Chapter 4 The Doxic Family; Chapter 5 Doxa, Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy; Chapter 6 Structural Aspects of Kinship; Chapter 7 Internalized Gender Structures; Chapter 8 Family and Gender, and Society at Large; Chapter 9 Some Theoretical and Methodological Elaborations;

'Allon Uhlmann's book is a hard-headed yet empathic analysis of how family, gender, and kinship are shaped culturally and socially, through his critique and modification of Bourdieu's theory of practice in an Australian habitus. A most welcome contribution - theoretically, methodologically - to intensive studies of social practice.' Don Handelman, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel 'Relying on his ethnographic material and on his analysis of the history and sociology of the Australian family, Uhlmann creatively engages Bourdieu's practice theory and sets his ethnographic data in a broader context of historical continuities and social change, including the very structure of Australian capitalism. In its interrogation of both empirical research and social theory, the book promises to become a landmark in the anthropology and sociology of the Australian family.' Ian Keen, Australian National University, Australia 'Allon Uhlmann has written a compelling and deeply relevant ethnographic work. Rich in detail and insightful analysis, this book is a high water mark in the study of family, gender and kinship. Uhlmann demonstrates the strength and quality of ethnographic vantages and shows how Bourdieu's theories of practice can inform social analysis. Complementing earlier work, this book positions Newcastle and the Hunter region as a fertile field in Australian anthropology.' Deane Fergie, University of Adelaide, Australia 'Uhlmann's study...a very welcome departure from what he has elsewhere convincingly characterized as the besetting sin of Australian family sociology, an over-emphasis on practical policy. His theoretically rigorous and richly detailed analysis of the structures and logic of Australian family and kinship within a Bourdieusian frame provides an innovative addition to the existing literature on Australia.' Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute