ABSTRACT
Practical kinship is constituted through kinds of relationships that members recognize, and that are activated from time to time. The study planned to follow a series of retrospective and prospective family case studies, using snowball sampling to interview members of each kindred to follow the flow of genetic information through the kinship network. Family and kinship are accomplished, or performed, and are constructed through the biographical and autobiographical work people do. Their biographical work takes many forms, including family stories and reminiscences, photograph albums, family social events, letters and so on. In the case of doubtful paternity, the biologically defined pedigree and the socially recognized relations of kinship may be in direct conflict. The assembly of family and kinship is a locally managed affair within genetics team of scientists and clinicians. Through observation of the work of clinical geneticists we examine how family and kinship are constructed and transformed by the technologies of the clinic to make a genetic diagnosis.
