CARTSS-Center to Advance Research and Teaching in the Social Sciences

 

 

 

 

 

Prof. Carole McGranahan

 

 

 

 

Prof. Darna Dufour

 

 

Carole McGranahan and Darna Dufour's Seed proposal:

 “Infant Care and Parenting Logics Across Cultures”

Each culture has its own ideas about infant care and what makes for “good” parenting. At the same time, however, that there is cultural variation in parenting strategies, specific practices might have biophysical benefits or drawbacks that cut across cultures. The use of baby carriers, for example, of one- and two-shoulder carriers such as slings, front- or backpacks, Asian-style carriers, and wrapping cloths, may be linked to cultural traditions, occupational status, religious beliefs, and social class just as much as to concerns with bonding and attachment, care of premature babies, and therapy for women suffering from post-partum depression. We propose a cross-cultural study of parents’ beliefs about and physiological benefits of baby carriers. This will be a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and international project for which we will eventually seek major funding from the National Institute of Health, National Geographic, the National Science Foundation, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. At present, we request $4,000 in seed money from CARTSS for planning and preliminary research.