Kinship

If there is one thread that ties all of my research, it might be a persistent interest in the social connections between individuals and groups. Kinship is one of the most important of these connection types. In addition to genealogical and terminological research on Pakistan, I am also interested in comparative studies of kinship terminologies and practices.

Kinship in Pakistan is one of the entry points for understanding alliance building and rivalries in both urban and rural contexts. In my forthcoming book Political Kinship in Pakistan (Rowman & Littlefield), I explore the role of kinship in the political life of Pakistan.

Signifcant publications

Fischer  Stephen M., M. D. L. (2004). George Peter Murdock (V. Amit, Ed.; pp. 367–369). London: Routledge.

Fischer, M. D., Lyon, S. M., Sosna, D., & Henig, D. (2013). Harmonizing Diversity: Tuning Anthropological Research to Complexity. Social Science Computer Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439312455311

Fischer, M. D., Read, D., & Lyon, S. M. (2005). Cybernetics and Systems: An International Journal: Introduction. Cybernetics and Systems, 36(8). https://doi.org/10.1080/01969720500356654

Lyon, S. M. (2002). Power and patronage in Pakistan [PhD in Anthropology, University of Kent]. https://dro.dur.ac.uk/183/

Lyon, S. M. (2004a). An anthropological analysis of local politics and patronage in a Pakistani village. Edwin Mellen Press. http://www.mellenpress.com/mellenpress.cfm?bookid=5732&pc=9

Lyon, S. M. (2004b). ‘Indirect’ symbolic violence and rivalry between equals in rural Punjab, Pakistan. Durham Anthropology Journal., 12(1), 37–50.

Lyon, S. M. (2004c). Modeling Context in Punjabi Conflict Resolution: Social Organizations as Context Agents. Cybernetics and Systems., 35(2–3), 193–210.

Lyon, S. M. (2004d). Putting social engineering on the back burner: Teaching priorities in formal education in rural Punjab, Pakistan. Anthropology in Action : Journal for Applied Anthropology in Policy and Practice., 11(1), 35–44.

Lyon, S. M. (2010). Genealogy, kinship, and knowledge: A cautionary note about causation. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33(5). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X10002244

Lyon, S. M. (2017). On Brothers and Sisters: South Asian and Japanese Idea Systems and their Consequences. World Cultures, 22(1). https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2f00s96z

Lyon, S. M. (2019). Political Kinship in Pakistan: Descent, Marriage and Government Stability. Lexington Books. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498582186/Political-Kinship-in-Pakistan-Descent-Marriage-and-Government-Stability

Lyon, S. M., Jamieson, M. A., & Fischer, M. D. (2015). Persistent Cultures: Miskitu Kinship Terminological Fluidity. Structure and Dynamics: EJournal of Anthropological and Related Sciences, 8(1). http://escholarship.org/uc/item/6w65n7sf

Lyon, S. M., & Magliveras, S. S. (2006). Kinship, Computing and Anthropology. Social Science Computer Review, 24(1), 30–42.

Lyon, S. M., & Mughal, M. A. Z. (2016). Ties That Bind:Marital Networks and Politics in Punjab, Pakistan. Structure and Dynamics: EJournal of Anthropological and Related Sciences, 9(2). https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5378v2fx