title: Introduction: Communicating Reproduction.
abstract: Communication should be central to histories of reproduction, because it has structured how people do and do not reproduce. Yet communication has been so pervasive, and so various, that it is often taken for granted and the historical specificities overlooked. Making communication a frame for histories of reproduction can draw a fragmented field together, including by putting the promotion of esoteric ideas on a par with other practical activities. Paying communication close attention can revitalize the history of reproduction over the long term by highlighting continuities as well as the complex connections between new technologies and new approaches. Themes such as the power of storytelling, the claiming and challenging of expertise, and relations between knowledge and ignorance, secrecy and propriety also invite further study.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hopwood
authors.forename: Peter Murray
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kassell
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Secord
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication / Q000266:history*; D005060:Europe; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D009656:North America; D012098:Reproduction