About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherBloomsbury Publishing

ISBN-101845200489

ISBN-139781845200480

eBay Product ID (ePID)43398701

Product Key Features

Book TitleBarren States : the Population Implosion in Europe

Number of Pages288 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicDemography, Anthropology / General

Publication Year2005

GenreSocial Science

AuthorCarrie B. Douglass

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height0.7 in

Item Weight20.2 Oz

Item Length9.2 in

Item Width6.1 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2004-028419

ReviewsWinner for the Most Notable Recent Edited Collection Book Prize for 2006, Council on the Anthropology and Reproduction (CAR), Winner for the Most Notable Recent Edited Collection Book Prize for 2006, Council on the Anthropology and Reproduction (CAR) 'Each tightly written essay provides a challenging thesis; gives a historical and contemporary overview; marshals research scholarship; and draws an insightful and compelling conclusion. Excellent for college classes, including graduate courses, in sociology, gender studies, and European studies. Summing up: Highly recommended.' Choice Magazine (February 2006)

Dewey Edition22

Dewey Decimal304.62094

Table Of ContentIntroduction--Carrie B. Douglass * Norway: A Matter of Free Choice? Some Structural and Cultural Influences on the Decision to Have or Not to Have Children in Norway--Malin Noem Ravn * Germany: "Now It Is Completely the Other Way Around" - Ethnographic Perspective on a Cultural Economy of Fertility in Re-Unified Germany--Susan L. Erikson * Russia: "Our Nation is Dying" - Interpreting Patterns of Childbearing on a Post-Soviet Russia--Cynthia Gabriel * Czech Republic: The Economy of Birthrates in the Czech Republic--Rebecca Nash * Bulgaria: A Quest for Belonging - The Bulgarian Demographic Crisis, Emigration and the Post-socialist Generation--Maria Stoilkova * Greece: Underfertility's Challenge to Modern Family and Gender Relations in Urban Greece--Heather Paxson * Italy: Toys and Perfumes - Imploding Italy's Population Paradox and Motherly Myths--Elizabeth L. Krause * Spain: "We're Fine at Home" - Young People and the Low Birthrate in Spain--Carrie B. Douglass * France: Making Family - Depopulation and Social Crisis in France--P. Anna Lim * Ireland: Bodies Coming and Going - Women and Fertility in Postmodern Ireland--Jo Murphy-Lawless

SynopsisThe fertility rate has dramatically declined across Europe in recent years. Globally, over sixty-four countries have fallen below generation replacement levels and countries in eastern and southern Europe are registering the lowest birth rates in the history of humanity. Demographers emphasize that these developments could have serious repercussions for society and public policy - from a projected drastic loss of national population numbers to labor shortages and a swelling population of over-65s.Typically, analysts have approached the issue of low fertility quantitatively and from state levels. As a result, most research tends to elide any nuanced understanding of this significant trend. Filling a major gap, this timely book goes well beyond existing studies to investigate how people experience, understand and speak about what is called "low fertility." On the individual level, is there such a thing? How do people understand their choices and the perceived limitations on their lives? What is the meaning of motherhood for women today? How has the definition of "family" changed? What are the particularities of fertility decline in each country? And, perhaps most importantly, what does this tendency toward fewer births mean to the women and men who ultimately become demographic statistics?Offering new readings and a much deeper understanding of Europe's decline in fertility, this exciting book adds the voices of everyday people to previous state-centered studies. Overturning a number of assumptions, case studies show that having fewer children is often understood positively in Europe as a means to freedom and self-empowerment. Anyone wishing to understand what low fertility means to the people who live it will find this book essential reading., The fertility rate has dramatically declined across Europe in recent years. Globally, over sixty-four countries have fallen below generation replacement levels and countries in eastern and southern Europe are registering the lowest birth rates in the history of humanity. Demographers emphasize that these developments could have serious repercussions for society and public policy - from a projected drastic loss of national population numbers to labor shortages and a swelling population of over-65s. Typically, analysts have approached the issue of low fertility quantitatively and from state levels. As a result, most research tends to elide any nuanced understanding of this significant trend. Filling a major gap, this timely book goes well beyond existing studies to investigate how people experience, understand and speak about what is called "low fertility." On the individual level, is there such a thing? How do people understand their choices and the perceived limitations on their lives? What is the meaning of motherhood for women today? How has the definition of "family" changed? What are the particularities of fertility decline in each country? And, perhaps most importantly, what does this tendency toward fewer births mean to the women and men who ultimately become demographic statistics? Offering new readings and a much deeper understanding of Europe's decline in fertility, this exciting book adds the voices of everyday people to previous state-centered studies. Overturning a number of assumptions, case studies show that having fewer children is often understood positively in Europe as a means to freedom and self-empowerment. Anyone wishing to understand what low fertility means to the people who live it will find this book essential reading.

LC Classification NumberHB991