Anthropological Demography : Toward a New Synthesis (Population and Development Series)

In its early years anthropology often used demographic research, but the two disciplines have recently grown to distrust each other's assumptions and methods. In order to show that they have much to offer each other, this book seeks to bridge the demography/anthropology divide. The book begins with an historical account of the relations between the fields, then examines the major issues and controversies in anthropological demography, including the demographic implications of differing family and kinship systems; the influence of new developments in cultural, gender and identity theory on population study; the limits of quantitative approaches in demographic study; and demographers' view of the limits of anthropological methods.