Infanticide in the Americas? An Introductory Essay

The introduction to the special issue explains the significance of studying infanticide in the frame of the Americas and outlines some of the important themes and findings that emerge from the papers. The introduction explores how authors have uncovered a range of reactions to infanticide, how social and emotional contexts matter in cases of suspicious infant deaths, and how and why sexual honor and shame mitigated social and criminal sanctions. Significantly, the papers demonstrate the role of colonial constructions of Indigenous and Black women accused of infanticide and the durability of those constructions across place and time. Finally, the introduction addresses some of the similarities and differences regarding the local legal apparatus as well as how they shape historical records for the study of infanticide

Agency (philosophy) · Colonialism · Frame (networking) · Honor · Indigenous · Shame · History of Emotions Research · Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse · Intimate Partner and Family Violence