A roda dos enjeitados no Recife (1789-1832): entre o debate historiográfico e o labirinto da pesquisa / The wheel of the foudlings in Recife (1789-1832): between the historiographical debate and the labyrinth of the research

Tem por objetivo analisar os caminhos teóricos e metodológicos da historiografia sobre o tema da infância, em especial, a que trata do abandono de crianças e das políticas assistenciais no Brasil. Em seguida, apresenta os percursos que a autora trilhou para entender as práticas infanticidas e o que acontecia às crianças sem família no Recife, entre os anos de 1789 e 1832. Tema difícil e sensível, escrito a partir das histórias anônimas de gente pequena, de dor e de esperança na qual se prendia, de forma tênue, a vida de alguns dos sobreviventes do abandono familiar e governamental.

As verdades extraídas dos corpos: o saber médico nos casos de infanticídio em Fortaleza na primeira metade do século XX / The truths extracted from the bodies: medical knowledge in infanticide cases in Fortaleza in the first half of the XXth century

Faz uma reflexão sobre a atuação médica, referente aos crimes de infanticídio, a partir de processos crimes, o que estabelece uma relação entre ciência médica e poder judiciário.

History of son preference and sex selection in India and in the west.

In the history of mankind, there was a time when women dominated the world. In due course of time, as the patriarchal societies evolved, the status of women gradually declined. Sons were preferred to daughters. In India, the Brahmin community promoted such customs and rituals, which gave more and more importance to sons eg. Lighting the funeral pyre of the father was told to be a pre-condition for salvation of his spirit. Similarly, in western civilization also women were considered to be weak. In consonance with such a mind-set man has been trying various techniques for sex-selection since antiquity eg. for acquiring a son choosing a special day, time and posture for sexual intercourse, special diet, charms and amulet and prayers etc. In Vedas also punsavana karma has been described as a technique for acquiring a son. Apart from these techniques, female infanticide has also been used as a way to create a male dominated, son-worshipping society. On development of the technique of ultrasonography as an example of progress of science and technology, man has devised a new way of killing females in womb itself, which has resulted in continuous decline in female: male sex ratio in India. To stop this, Indian Govt. promulgated PNDT Act 1994. But considering the widely prevalent practice of use of various regimen of sex-pre-selection by people as well as unscrupulous medical practitioners, Govt. of India has amended this Act (2002). Still, as authors have found in one of their studies, sex-selection drugs are being used widely by north Indians for getting a son. Here, it should be noted that sex-selection methods are being used in west also. But the perspective is different. There, it is not used for female feticide or for acquiring a son. Rather, it is more an effort towards demonstrating the control of man over the NATURE.