What is a Parent: A Socio-Legal Analysis

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An interdisciplinary exploration of the nature of parenthood and its various manifestations in contemporary society. It is divided into three sections dealing respectively with defining parenthood, new issues in contemporary parenting and parenting post-divorce. Each contributor addresses the central question, "what is a parent", from the perspective of his or her own discipline, bringing together ideas about parents derived from law, sociology, psychology, biology and criminology. Despite the familiar and apparently obvious answer to this question, the notion of "parent" emerges from the analysis as a contested concept. Parenting practices are by no means fixed, and ideologies which frame who parents are and what they do are subject to disruptions from several quarters. In short, the essays in this book show the ways in which "parent", like "child", is a term with a shifting meaning and "parenthood" refers to a fluid set of social practices which are historically and culturally situated. The essays are the product of a series of seminars held at the University of Cambridge in 1998 under the auspices of the Cambridge Socio-Legal Group.

Reviews

It is important to acknowledge the centrality of the central premise of this book. We can no longer assume that there is unanimity on what or who is a parent. 'Family' arrangements continue to diversify and all those involved in working with men, women and children need to be aware of the potential legal, social and psychological ramifications. -- Brid Featherstone * Child and Family Social Work *
Many of the chapters in this book offer new insights into the nature and practices of parenting and others provide useful reviews and syntheses on existing researchthis is a book that will be of interest to students and researchers focusing on the family in the fields of law, sociology and psychology. -- Felicity Kaganas * Social and Legal Studies *

Author Bio

Andrew Bainham is a Fellow of Christ's College,Cambridge and Reader in Family Law and Policy at the University of Cambridge. Shelley Day Sclater is a Reader in Psycho-Social Studies at the University of East London and co-director of the Centre for Narrative Research. Martin Richards is Emeritus Professor of Family Research at the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge.