University of Oxford

Fertility and Reproduction Studies

Understanding the complex and multifaceted issue of human reproduction has been, and remains, of great interest both to academics and practitioners. Bearing in mind the importance of that understanding, the Fertility and Reproduction Studies Group (FRSG) was set up by Dr Soraya Tremayne and Prof David Parkin in 1998 within the broader context of the Medical Anthropology programme of the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology (ISCA) at the University of Oxford. Since 2010, Dr Philip Kreager is the Group's director.

FRSG's aim is to promote research and publications on the anthropology of fertility and reproduction, with emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach. It addresses the changing dynamics of fertility from a cross-cultural perspective with implications for policy and planning. It seeks to understand the needs, behaviour and concerns of different cultures in the context of fertility and reproduction, and to investigate issues of global relevance in this field. The formation of the Group was preceded by a series of seminars held at ISCA, with contributions from specialists working on fertility, reproduction, sexuality and their related issues.

FRSG is the first such group to be set up within an anthropology department in the UK, and has established itself as a focal point for inter-action between academics and practitioners in this field. It holds regular seminars on themes ranging from fertility (links between fertility and sexuality, reproductive ecology, identity, adoption and ‘real parents', ageing, infertility) to ethnobotany, reproduction and sexuality (use of plants and herbs in fertility, infertility, gender and ethnobotany). The FRSG group also has a book series, as well as a newsletter, which appears twice per year.