Episode 12: Parenting

# AnthroAlert## Episode 12: ParentingOriginally aired 11 August 2017 on bullsradio.orgIn this episode, we examine the anthropology of parenting.Our guest, Anna Davidson Abella, will help us to discuss anthropological approaches to understanding parenting.Anna received her B.S. in Anthropology from USF in 2004 and went on to complete a joint M.A. in Anthropology and Women’s and Gender studies from Brandeis University in 2006. She returned to the Tampa area to work in the non-profit sector as a program director for an organization that provided social and emotional education programs to youth throughout Hillsborough County. After five years in this field, Anna returned to USF to pursue her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology. Her focus of study ultimately became oriented around parenting, as both professional and personal experiences converged to open up new insights into social implications of parenting. She is currently in the writing stage of her dissertation with plans to graduate in December 2017.The purpose of this research is to understand local definitions of what it means to be a “good” parent. The mixed-methods approach combining participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and electronic survey shows that parents rely heavily on children’s developmental milestones as markers around which parenting strategies should be oriented and as a pathway to being a more nurturing and loving parent. The practices embodied by the parents – most of whom are middle class stay at home mothers - reflect widespread professional ideologies of child development that focus on the importance of parenting a particular way in the early years in order to mitigate future risks. Spending focused time with children was also a motivating factor for many of the mothers who chose to stay home to raise their children. Parents’ beliefs in nurturing their children’s developmental abilities are consistent with notions of concerted cultivation, which are drawn from Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital. This work therefore explores implications of who “good parenting” is accessible to, and how structural supports in our society may be reimagined to allow all parents to realize their ideal approaches to parenting.## Podcast link## Video linkhttps://youtu.be/p5LqjcpRH-0## Album art photo credit:Oliver Thompsonhttps://flic.kr/p/9zVPYBCC License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/Daddy and Levi by Tammy McGaryhttps://flic.kr/p/aT1MJnCC License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/## Intro music credit:Urbana-Metronica (wooh-yeah mix) by spinningmerkabahttp://ccmixter.org/files/jlbrock44/33345https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.