Family Matters
Secrecy and Disclosure in the History of Adoption
E. Wayne Carp(Author)
Harvard University Press
Published on 8. April 1998
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-0-674-79668-3 (ISBN)
Description
This work looks at the history of adoption in American society and reveals how the practice and attitudes about it have evolved from colonial days to the 1990s. The author argues that it is ever more apparent that secrecy and disclosure are the defining issues in American adoptions. He discovers that openess used to be the norm before World War II and that this ceased due to a convergence of several unusual cultural, demographic, and social trends. From this American's feelings about biological kinship versus socially constructed families are analyzed, as well as the stigma of adoption - used at times to promote openess and secrecy. Finally suspect psychoanalytic concepts such as "genetic bewilderment", and bogus medical terms, such as "adopted child syndrome", that paints all parties of adoption as psychologically damaged are examined.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge, Mass
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
32 line illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 155 mm
Weight
630 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-674-79668-3 (9780674796683)
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Schweitzer Classification