{"product_id":"the-foetal-condition-a-sociology-of-engendering-and-abortion-hardback-9780745647302","title":"The Foetal Condition; A Sociology of Engendering and Abortion (Hardback) 9780745647302","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Foetal Condition\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eA Sociology of Engendering and Abortion\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eLuc Boltanski (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780745647302, Polity Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 31 May 2013\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e448 pages\u003cbr\u003e23.9 x 16 x 3.1 cm, 0.635 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e'An utterly original treatment of an interminably discussed issue. Combining anthropological reflection with interviews, social theorizing with hospital reports, Boltanski produces an account that recasts the question of abortion, even as it cannot fail to annoy all sides in the current debate.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNancy Fraser, The New School for Social Research \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e '\u003ci\u003eThe Foetal Condition\u003c\/i\u003e is not a political intervention, it does not rehash for us the endless arguments for or against abortion. Rather, it is about a far more startling topic: the connection between abortion and the process of engendering, becoming a member of the human species, at once generic and particular. Using a large range of anthropological evidence, Boltanski shows that societies have always practiced abortion, and that the silences, prohibitions or tacit acceptation of abortion touch on the troubling question of how societies define a \"human being\". This highly original book cannot fail to become a classic among anthropologists, sociologists, philosophers, and ethicists.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEva Illouz, Hebrew University of Jerusalem\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eAbortion is a contentious issue in social life but it has rarely been subjected to careful scrutiny in the social sciences. While the legalization of abortion has brought it into the public domain, it still remains a sensitive topic in many cultures, often hidden from view and rarely spoken about, consigned to a shadowy existence.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Drawing on reports gathered from hospital settings and in-depth interviews with women who have had abortions, Luc Boltanski sets out to explain the ambiguous status of this social practice. Abortion, he argues, has to remain in the shadows, for it reveals a contradiction at the heart of the social contract: the principle of the uniqueness of beings conflicts with the postulate of their replaceable nature, a postulate without which no society would achieve demographic renewal.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  This leads Boltanski to explore the way human beings are engendered and to analyze the symbolic constraints that preside over their entry into society. What makes a human being is not the foetus as such, ensconced within the body, but rather the process by which it is taken up symbolically in speech - that is, its symbolic adoption. But this symbolic adoption presupposes the possibility of discriminating among embryos that are indistinguishable. For society, and sometimes for individuals, the arbitrary character of this discrimination is hard to tolerate. The contradiction is made bearable, Boltanski shows, by a grammatical categorization: the “project” foetus - adopted by its parents, who use speech to welcome the new being and give it a name - is juxtaposed to the “tumoral” foetus, an accidental embryo that will not be the object of a life-forming project.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Bringing together grammar, narrations of life experience and an historical perspective, this highly original book sheds fresh light on a social phenomenon that is widely practised but poorly understood.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction 1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1 he Anthropological Dimensions of Abortion 11\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e2 The Two Constraints on Engendering 39\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e3 Understandings 60 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e4 The Parental Project 90\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e5 Constructing Foetal Categories 125\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e6 The Justification of Abortion 158\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e7 The Experience of Abortion 193\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eConclusion: Forgetting Abortion 233\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNotes 251\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWorks Cited 299\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIndex 317\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Sociology \u0026amp; anthropology [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Sociology \u0026amp; anthropology\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Sociology%20\u0026amp;%20anthropology%20%5BJH%5D%22\"\u003eJH\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Polity","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52407316349208,"sku":"9780745647302","price":50.59,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9780745647302.jpg?v=1784161166","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-foetal-condition-a-sociology-of-engendering-and-abortion-hardback-9780745647302","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}