ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the literature on kinship in Britain since the 1950s and its relevance to the central themes of the book. Ultimately, I argue that theoretical writings on studies of kinship and family relatedness outside of Britain provide the most useful clues for understanding relatedness among my research families. For example, I found a relevant parallel in Carsten’s (1997) interpretation of Malay kinship with a historical dimension and forms of family relatedness, shifting the focus from a social/biological distinction to a more ‘flexible and open’ and native/local definition of ‘relatedness’ (Carsten 2004: 311). Additionally, the creolisation/culture-building works of Caribbeanists such as Besson (2002a, 2002b), Mintz (1992 [1976]) and Olwig (1981), with their emphasis on the creative adaptations of Caribbean family patterns as modes of resistance and accommodation, are of particular relevance. For although my research families’ networks evolved outside of the Caribbean, the ongoing struggles these families face in London and the continued survival strategies they devise may be compared with the processes that occurred in the Caribbean. First, however, let us look at research on British kinship since the 1950s.
