Dissertation Research: Conceptions of the Fetus in Haitian Immigrant Culture

论文研究：海地移民文化中的胎儿概念

• 批准号: 0522157
• 负责人: Stacey Langwick
• 金额: $ 0.75万
• 依托单位: University of Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-08-15 至 2006-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0522157&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Conceptions; Fetus; Haitian

Dissertation Research- Conceptions of the Fetus in Haitian Immigrant CultureProject Summary:Recent federal legislation has resulted in changes by which fetuses are now considered rights holders and persons with national identities. Those changes compel our nation to protect our unborn through the recognition of individualrights for the fetus. Most of the work exploring the implications of the emergence of fetuses as rights holders has focusedon isues of women's control over their bodies or abortion politics. Women, however, are imagined generically; the differences among women which could shape the impact of these issues have not yet been critically examined. For example, very little work has exploredthe important question of what these developments mean for pregnant immigrant women of color with uncertain legal status. This dissertation research will explore how routinemedical procedures and recent legal initiatives shape the way Haitian women giving birthin the United States imagine and redefine rights, national identities, and citizenship in lightof the fetus. This work will use ethnographic data-participant observation in clinics andcommunity settings in South Florida and the collection of Haitian women's narrativesaround their experiences in prenatal care. In addition, this work will be grounded withintheir pre-existing notions of reproduction and motherhood, and therefore explore theintertwining of social and biological reproduction. This project will use the comncept of "fetal positions" (Casper 1994), that is, being mindful of the many ways in which the fetus isconstructed, used or represented, as well as the multiple actors associated with thesepositions as a means to incorporate ethnographic data with current legislative and mediarepresentations of the idea of fetuses as rights holders and persons with national identity. Intellectual Merit and Broader Impact of ProjectThis research adds to the theoretical and practical issues which have to do with theadoption and utilization of new technologies (in this case, prenatal care and reproductiveimaging) and the state's ability to define rights holders . Although a fewanthropologists have begun to investigate the construction of fetal personhood in crosscultural contexts, this project inquires how immigrants negotiate differing conceptions of the fetus, and consequently, how these alternative ideas affect their experiences in prenatal care. Although this project addresses larger theoretical issuesaround reproduction and identity, one of the most beneficial aspects of science andtechnology research is its ability to engage larger political issues. At a time when Americans areconcerned with "protecting new life," the impact on women's rights as well as women's experiences inpregnancy have become increasingly important. In addition, as Haitians continue to stream into the United States, their existence in America continues to be highly contested. By investigating the (re)production of the next Haitian-American generation, we can begin tosee how current issues in reproductive politics and immigrant identity can be explored through "fetal positions."

论文研究——海地移民文化中胎儿的概念项目摘要：最近的联邦立法导致了一些变化，胎儿现在被视为权利持有者和具有民族身份的人。 这些变化迫使我们的国家通过承认胎儿的个人权利来保护我们未出生的孩子。大多数探讨胎儿作为权利持有者出现的影响的工作都集中在妇女对其身体的控制或堕胎政治的问题上。然而，人们对女性的想象却是笼统的。妇女之间可能影响这些问题的差异尚未得到严格审查。例如，很少有工作探讨这些发展对法律地位不确定的有色人种怀孕移民妇女意味着什么这一重要问题。 本论文研究将探讨常规医疗程序和最近的法律举措如何影响在美国分娩的海地妇女根据胎儿想象和重新定义权利、民族身份和公民身份的方式。这项工作将使用南佛罗里达州诊所和社区环境中的人种学数据参与者观察，并收集海地妇女关于产前护理经历的叙述。此外，这项工作将以他们先前存在的生殖和母性概念为基础，从而探索社会生殖和生物生殖的交织。该项目将使用“胎儿立场”的概念（Casper 1994），即关注胎儿被构建、使用或代表的多种方式，以及与这些立场相关的多个参与者，作为将民族志数据与当前立法和媒体对胎儿作为权利持有者和具有民族身份的人的观念的表述相结合的手段。项目的智力价值和更广泛的影响这项研究增加了与新技术的采用和利用（在本例中为产前护理和生殖成像）以及国家界定权利持有人的能力有关的理论和实践问题。尽管一些人类学家已经开始研究跨文化背景下胎儿人格的构建，但该项目探讨了移民如何协商对胎儿的不同观念，以及这些替代观念如何影响他们在产前护理中的经历。尽管该项目解决了有关繁殖和身份的更大的理论问题，但科学技术研究最有益的方面之一是它能够解决更大的政治问题。在美国人关注“保护新生命”的时代，对妇女权利以及妇女怀孕经历的影响变得越来越重要。此外，随着海地人继续涌入美国，他们在美国的生存仍然面临激烈的争议。通过调查下一代海地裔美国人的（再）生产，我们可以开始了解如何通过“胎儿地位”来探讨当前的生殖政治和移民身份问题。