The biological world is full of phenomena that seem to run counter to Darwin's insight that natural selection can lead to the appearance of design. For instance, why do organisms in some species divide reproductive labor? The existence of non-reproducing organisms in such 'eusocial' species looks to be at odds with an evolutionary theory which posits traits exist because they help organisms survive and reproduce. What is the evolutionary advantage of an insect being distasteful to its predators? The distastefulness appears designed to deter predators, but can only affect the predator's actions when the insect is eaten; it is hard to see how such a trait could be passed on. This Element will cover the shared foundations of evolutionary explanations for these and other seemingly puzzling phenomena, focusing on the concepts of inclusive fitness and kin selection.

This study centres around three leading military statesmen who served under Oliver Comwell but were also his kin and shared the experiences of the civil wars, John Disbrowe (1608–80), Henry Ireton (1611–51), and Charles Fleetwood (1618–92). It seeks to develop our picture of their positions from the context of their kin link to Cromwell and how their private worlds shaped their public roles, how kinship was part of the functioning of the Cromwellian state, how they were seen and presented, and how this impacted on their own lives, and their kin, before and after the Restoration. Cromwell's career can be explored further by considering figures in his kinship network to show how the public and private overlapped and influenced each other through their interaction before and after 1660. This study aims to consider the trajectory of elements of Cromwell's network and how its functioning and the interaction of its constituent parts over time shaped the politics of the years 1643 to 1660 but also how the survival of some networks after 1660 were continuing communities of those willing to own their memories of the civil wars, regicide, and Cromwell. A study of aspects of Cromwell's kin also provides examples of the continuities between those who resisted the Stuarts in the 1640s and 1650s and did so again in the 1680s. Suitable for specialists in the area and students taking courses on early modern British, European and American history as well as those with a more general interest in the period.

Investigates why the collapse of communism prompted more violence in some instances and less violence in others

The history of the Middle Eastern family presents as many questions as there are currently answers. Who lived together in the household? Who married whom and for how long? Who got a piece of the patrimonial pie? These are the questions that Margaret Meriwether investigates in this groundbreaking study of family life among the upper classes of the Ottoman Empire in the pre-modern and early modern period. Meriwether recreates Aleppo family life over time from records kept by the Islamic religious courts that held jurisdiction over all matters of family law and property transactions. From this research, she asserts that the stereotype of the large, patriarchal patrilineal family rarely existed in reality. Instead, Aleppo's notables organized their families in a great diversity of ways, despite the fact that they were all members of the same social class with widely shared cultural values, acting under the same system of family law. She concludes that this had important implications for gender relations and demonstrates that it gave women more authority and greater autonomy than is usually acknowledged.

Stirling Prize for Best Book in Psychological Anthropology, 2018 Graburn Award for Best Book in Anthropology of Tourism, 2018 Douglass Prize for Best Book in the Anthropology of Europe, Honorable Mention, 2018 National Jewish Book Award, Finalist, 2017 Unortho­dox Kin is a ground­break­ing explo­ration of iden­ti­ty, relat­ed­ness, and belong­ing in a glob­al era. In urban Por­tu­gal today, hun­dreds of indi­vid­u­als trace their ances­try to 15th cen­tu­ry Jews forcibly con­vert­ed to Catholi­cism, and many now seek to rejoin the Jew­ish peo­ple as a whole. For the most part, how­ev­er, these self-titled Mar­ra­nos (“hid­den Jews”) lack any direct expe­ri­ence of Jews or Judaism, and Por­tu­gal’s tiny, tight­ly knit Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ty offers no clear path of entry. Accord­ing to Jew­ish law, to be rec­og­nized as a Jew one must be born to a Jew­ish moth­er or pur­sue reli­gious con­ver­sion, an anath­e­ma to those who feel their ances­tors’ Judaism was cru­el­ly stolen from them. After cen­turies of famil­ial Catholi­cism, and hav­ing been refused inclu­sion local­ly, how will these self-declared ances­tral Jews find belong­ing among ​“the Jew­ish fam­i­ly,” writ large? How, that is, can peo­ple reject­ed as strangers face-to-face become mem­bers of a glob­al imag­ined com­mu­ni­ty—not only rhetor­i­cal­ly, but experientially? Leite address­es this ques­tion through inti­mate por­traits of the lives and expe­ri­ences of a net­work of urban Mar­ra­nos who sought con­tact with for­eign Jew­ish tourists and out­reach work­ers as a means of gain­ing edu­ca­tion­al and moral sup­port in their quest. Explor­ing mutu­al imag­in­ings and direct encoun­ters between Mar­ra­nos, Por­tuguese Jews, and for­eign Jew­ish vis­i­tors, Unortho­dox Kin deft­ly tracks how visions of self and kin evolve over time and across social spaces, end­ing in an unex­pect­ed path to belong­ing. In the process, the analy­sis weaves togeth­er a diverse set of cur­rent anthro­po­log­i­cal themes, from inter­sub­jec­tiv­i­ty to inter­na­tion­al tourism, class struc­tures to the con­struc­tion of iden­ti­ty, cul­tur­al log­ics of relat­ed­ness to tran­scul­tur­al com­mu­ni­ca­tion. A com­pelling evo­ca­tion of how ideas of ances­try shape the present, how feel­ings of kin­ship arise among far-flung strangers, and how some find mys­ti­cal con­nec­tion in a world said to be dis­en­chant­ed, Unortho­dox Kin is a mod­el study for anthro­pol­o­gy today. This acclaimed book will appeal to a wide audi­ence inter­est­ed in anthro­pol­o­gy, soci­ol­o­gy, and reli­gious stud­ies. Its acces­si­ble, nar­ra­tive-dri­ven style makes it espe­cial­ly well-suit­ed for intro­duc­to­ry and advanced cours­es in gen­er­al cul­tur­al anthro­pol­o­gy, ethnog­ra­phy, the­o­ries of iden­ti­ty and social cat­e­go­riza­tion, and the study of glob­al­iza­tion, kin­ship, tourism, and religion.

This psycho-anthropological and socio-cultural novel logically and succinctly x-rays the foundations and raison d'Ítre of patriarchy through the implied questions - Is wealth the basis of patriarchy? Have women any role in the system? And how far can a patriarch protect his lineage from alien blood? The extremely wealthy father of eight daughters protagonist Ndi, says yes, to the first question; no, to the second; and in the third questions he says, through dogged pursuance of looking for a male heir by any means; but his lone son whom he unknowingly begot in a remote village in his early life and whom he accidentally stumbled upon and adopted as his heir in his odyssey of looking for a male heir through a series of marriages, says no, to the first question; yes, to the second and to the third question, he says fate is the umpire; and succeeds in convincing his father that he is right.

Dive into this darkly intense and steamy romantasy series from RITA® Award nominated author M.J. Scott… In a city of enchantment and perilous alliances, the divide between Fae, humans, vampire Blood Lords, and shape-shifting Beast Kind grows deeper by the day. As a metalmage, my family want me to stay safe and do as I'm told. To be a good girl. But a perfect reputation is meaningless when peace is hanging by a thread. The humans are grasping any advantage to help them prevent a war. Like the visions of the future that Fen, a half-Fae seer can show them. But to Fen, his power is torture, wild and uncontrolled. Dangerous enough that he wears iron—deadly to Fae—to quell his magic and save his sanity. Until the night we meet and discover that somehow, my magic calms his. Which might just save us all. Fen is as wild at heart as his power. Untameable. Unpredictable. Not a man a good girl should want anything to do with. But to help him—and my city—I have to touch him. And every touch makes me burn hotter than the magic I wield. I know I need to keep my head and guard my heart but playing safe won’t stop a war. And as the city begins to shatter, survival might mean giving up the future I think Fen and I could share… Iron Kin is the third book in the Half-Light series, a dark and steamy romantic fantasy series from RITA® Award nominated author M.J. Scott. It's an intense and sexy good girl meets bad boy romance between a human metal mage and a half-Fae seer who doesn't want to save the world. If you love worlds with vampires, shapeshifters, Fae and human magic, intrigue and action a la Sarah J Maas, then this is your next binge-worthy series! Author's note: This series is complete but in the process of being re-released (all books will be available again by the end of October 2024). For tropes and CW, please check the author's website.

Dive into this darkly intense and steamy romantasy series from RITA® Award nominated author M.J. Scott… In a city where clashing magic and turbulent alliances strain a tenuous peace, life has always been treacherous. But for someone like me, a half-Fae disowned by her father, living a secret life as a thief and a spy to survive, it’s become more dangerous than ever. My father’s only gift to me was magic, a knack for charms and glamours that make me one of the best at stealing the secrets the city wants to keep hidden. But as the Blood Lords and Beast Kind of the Night World begin to seethe with hints of rebellion, they guard those secrets more closely than ever, pushing my skills to the limit and sending me tumbling into the path of Guy DuCaine—literal white knight—a Templar warrior whose honor is his life. The sparks of suspicion between us ignite into something far more dangerous when we are forced to work together to uncover the key to a conspiracy that could bring down the city. It’s an unlikely alliance and only a fool would let herself believe that it could last. I know a holy knight could never love a spy who dances with darkness and that he will always choose his duty over someone like me. But to save a city, I might just have to sacrifice my heart… Blood Kin is the second book in the Half-Light series, a dark and steamy romantic fantasy series from RITA® Award nominated author M.J. Scott. It's an fast-paced forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers romance between a half-Fae thief and a Templar knight trying to save their city from danger. If you love worlds with vampires, shapeshifters, Fae and human magic, intrigue and action a la Sarah J Maas, then this is your next binge-worthy series! Author's note: This series is complete but in the process of being re-released (all books will be available again by the end of October 2024). For tropes and CW, please check the author's website.

Preface : encountering the photographs -- Chronology of significant events -- Introduction : an archive of skin, an archive of kin -- Ocular experiments and unruly technologies of the body -- A criminal archive of skin -- Dressing the body : Laundry and the intimacy of care -- Dreaming in pictures : Queer kinship and subaltern family albums -- Epilogue : healing encounters at the settlement.