Cousin Marriages

Alison Shaw is Professor of Social Anthropology in the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on ethnicity and health; social aspects of genetics; kinship, gender and transnational marriages. Her publications include Kinship and Continuity: Pakistani Families in Britain (2000) and Negotiating Risk: British Pakistani Experiences of Genetics (2009).

“Besides providing information on the contemporary practice of cousin marriage, considering how spousal choice may change over time and through immigration, and examining how people understand the genetic risks that may be associated with these relationships, this collection also contributes to the understanding of the social construction of genetic risk more broadly.” • Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (JRAI)“The utility of Cousin Marriages does not end, however, with researchers who have a direct stake in the issues. This book addresses an often oversimplified and misunderstood theme in both the science and culture of mating and does so using clear viewpoints with each chapter setting its own tone.” • Medical Anthropology Quarterly“The editors should be congratulated for expertly steering a course through a highly complex, sensitive, and increasingly politicised area of enquiry. This is a mature volume which navigates a range of often taboo and stigmatised practices and identities with diligence and a sense of ethical responsibility. One major contribution is in detailing just how legislation or debate concerning cousin marriage is frequently less to do with health, and more bound up with anxieties about nationalism and the politics of integration.” • Sociology of Health & Illness“…an engaging multi-disciplinary reflection on a common theme, namely, cross-cousin marriage. The collection offers perspectives – sociological, anthropological, historical, clinical and political – on the practice of cousin marriage and particularly as this distinctive marital strategy gains visibility.” • Bob Simpson, Durham University“This book deals with an important, rich and understudied topic: the impact of new genetic understandings of close marriage and its possible health risks on marriage practices and understandings of kinship in cross-cultural perspective. It offers valuable new material, and has [to be considered] a pioneering work.” • Morgan Clarke, Oxford University

• List of Figures and TablesPreface and AcknowledgementsIntroductionAlison Shaw and Aviad RazChapter 1. The Prevalence and Outcomes of Consanguineous Marriage in Contemporary SocietiesAlan H. BittlesChapter 2. Risk Calculations in ConsanguinityLeo P. ten Kate, Marieke E. Teeuw, Lidewij Henneman and Martina C. CornelPART I: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN TRADITIONAL CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGEChapter 3. Cousin Marriages and Inherited Blood Disorders in the Sultanate of OmanClaire BeaudevinChapter 4. 'Dangerous Liaisons': Modern Bio-medical Discourses and Changing Practices of Cousin Marriage in Southeastern TurkeyLaila PragerPART II: COUSIN MARRIAGES WITHIN MIGRANT POPULATIONS IN EUROPEChapter 5. British Pakistani Cousin Marriages and the Negotiation of Reproductive RiskAlison ShawChapter 6. A Cousin Marriage Equals a Forced Marriage: Transnational Marriages between Closely Related Spouses in DenmarkAnika Liversage and Mikkel RytterChapter 7. Changing Patterns Of Partner Choice? Cousin Marriages Among Migrant Groups In The NetherlandsOka Storms and Edien BartelsPART III: CONSANGUINITY AND MANAGING GENETIC RISKChapter 8. Using Community Genetics for Healthy ConsanguinityJoël ZlotogoraChapter 9. Premarital Carrier Testing and Matching in Jewish CommunitiesAviad RazChapter 10. Preconception Care For Consanguineous Couples in the NetherlandsMarieke E. Teeuw, Pascal Borry and Leo P. ten KateAfterword: The Marriages of Cousins in Victorian EnglandAdam KuperIndex