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Book Review: Adoption, Family and The Paradox of Origins: A Foucauldian History written by Sally Sales

Book Review: Adoption, Family and The Paradox of Origins: A Foucauldian History written by Sally... Basingstoke, Palgrave, Macmillan, 2012. isbn 978-023-027-625-3. £55.00. This is arguably the most interesting book on adoption to appear for many years (but see also Yngvesson, 2010). It is ostensibly an inquiry into open adoption, but it is much else besides. It traces the ways in which kinship and family were interpreted and used in different historical periods. It adopts an approach particularly associated with Michel Foucault (see also Butler, 1997 ), and tells a story. This narrative deconstructs the orthodox interpretation of the history of adoption. What Sales shows is that in the early days of adoption, it was “open”. Open contact with birth parents is not a new phenomenon at all, but rather a return to earlier practice. Early 20 th century practices did not cut off all blood ties. Only later did the norm of secrecy prevail, and with it concealment of the child’s history. At its most extreme, children were told their parents were dead and sent to Australia to begin a new life (see Rundle, 2011 ) – but were frequently abused and exploited when they got there ( Eekelaar, 2006, Libesman, 2014 ). The rationale of the policy is clear. The children involved http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The International Journal of Children's Rights Brill

Book Review: Adoption, Family and The Paradox of Origins: A Foucauldian History written by Sally Sales

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References (1)

Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2015 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
Subject
Book Reviews
ISSN
0927-5568
eISSN
1571-8182
DOI
10.1163/15718182-02301011
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Basingstoke, Palgrave, Macmillan, 2012. isbn 978-023-027-625-3. £55.00. This is arguably the most interesting book on adoption to appear for many years (but see also Yngvesson, 2010). It is ostensibly an inquiry into open adoption, but it is much else besides. It traces the ways in which kinship and family were interpreted and used in different historical periods. It adopts an approach particularly associated with Michel Foucault (see also Butler, 1997 ), and tells a story. This narrative deconstructs the orthodox interpretation of the history of adoption. What Sales shows is that in the early days of adoption, it was “open”. Open contact with birth parents is not a new phenomenon at all, but rather a return to earlier practice. Early 20 th century practices did not cut off all blood ties. Only later did the norm of secrecy prevail, and with it concealment of the child’s history. At its most extreme, children were told their parents were dead and sent to Australia to begin a new life (see Rundle, 2011 ) – but were frequently abused and exploited when they got there ( Eekelaar, 2006, Libesman, 2014 ). The rationale of the policy is clear. The children involved

Journal

The International Journal of Children's Rights – Brill

Published: Mar 28, 2015

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