Marian Quartly

The Market in Babies tells the history of adoption in Australia from its beginnings in the 19th century to its decline at the beginning of the 21st. In the early years, supply outstripped demand; needy children were hard to place. In the mid-20th century, demand and supply grew together with adoption presented as the perfect solution to two social problems - infertility and illegitimacy. Supply declined in the 1970s, and demand turned to new global markets. Now these markets are closing, but technology provides new opportunities, and Australians are acquiring babies through the surrogacy markets of India and the US. As the rate of adoptions in Australia falls to a historic low, and with parliaments across the country apologizing to parents and children for the pain caused by past practices, this book identifies an historical continuum between the past and the present, and it challenges the view that the best interests of the child can ever be protected in an environment where the market for children is allowed to flourish. The book's authors are long-established scholars with expertise in the history of the family, welfare history, and the making of public policy in Australia. *** "The richness of this book lies in equal measure in the sources it uses and its ability to synthesize history and public policy. The voices of adoptees and parents gathered here are moving and sophisticated, even as they tell diverse stories about their experiences. Highly recommended." -- Choice, Vol. 52, No. 2, October 2014 ? ? ? ?

Drawing the Line: Using Cartoons as Historical Evidence brings together essays from international scholars working with cartoons in their research and teaching. It is a showcase for some of the best recent scholarship in this field, with articles exploring racial and ethnic stereotypes, as well as representations of youth, gender and class across a number of key historical epochs. Cartoons are among the most vivid and familiar images of past politics and opinion, but tend to be used merely as 'illustrations' for historical works. Drawing the Line, however, provides a comprehensive introduction to the study of cartoons as sources in their own right. The British Regency Crisis, post-Civil War US politics, Anglo-Iraqi interaction in the Second World War, and Yugoslav Communist propaganda are just some of the themes through which the effective use of cartoons in historical writing is explored. Readers will also find guidance and suggestions for further research on cartoons in the extensive introductory and concluding sections. The book includes more than one hundred examples of the most brilliant cartoon art of the past, from eighteenth-century satirical prints, to the formalised satire of Punch, to the new and ever-evolving medium of webcomics. It will be an essential resource for students and teachers wanting to explore visual representations of the past, and will appeal to all readers interested in innovative ways of writing history.