Trasformazioni demografiche e trasformazioni della parentela

Demographic transformations and transformations of kinship. - This article starts from an examination of the two demographic transitions and underlines that they entail kinship transitions because declining fertility means that women bear fewer children, thereby shrinking the universe of available kin and affecting their distribution. After noticing that there are demographic transformations other than transitions, it surveys recent changes in the relationships between demography and kinship by briefly outlining the cases of Italy, Latin America, the Mediterranean region and China. It eventually turns to Haraway’s invitation to «make kin not babies», which hints at alternative ways of constructing kinship ties.