PDF-(EBOOK)-Schools and Styles of Anthropological Theory

From the inception of the discipline in the 19th century great ideas have always inspired and guided anthropologists when conducting their research amongst people all over the world Such great ideas are born from the social and political contexts of their creators and the challenge for scholars of anthropology today is to understand the value these ideas bring to modern fields of enquiryEach chapter in this textbook has been written to provide a thorough yet engaging introduction to one particular theoretical school and style These chapters build up to a coherent and wellorganised picture of the history and contemporary shape of anthropological theory Beginning with an introduction which reflects on the substantive themes which tie the chapters together the book ends with an afterword by Marilyn Strathern reflecting on broader themes in the use of history and anthropological conceptsPresenting a detailed and comprehensive critical introduction to the most salient areas of the field this book is essential reading for all undergraduate students undertaking a course on anthropological theory or the history of anthropological thought It will also be useful reading for students of social and cultural anthropology sociology and human geography and those enrolled in an anthropology course during their postgraduate degree with no background in the field. sagepublicationscom Vo l 41 2951 DOI 1011771463499604040846 29 Franz Boas out of the ivory tower Lee D Baker Duke University USA Abstract Although the idea that Franz Boas was a public intellectual is widely embraced there is nothing written that spe ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORY 7(2) 132 73 Anthropological Notebooks, XVII/1, 2011 stantial research evidence to back it up and it is used as a passe partout tool for referring to auto-critical thought and works. Re�exivity is an Theory and Research. in . Sociology of Education. Major theoretical perspectives:. f. unctionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism. Contemporary approaches:. c. ode theory, cultural capital, status competition, institutional theory, post-modern critique. Anthropological Theory: An Introductory History, Seventh Edition, presents a selection of critical essays in anthropology from 1860 to the present day. Classic authors such as Marx, Durkheim, Boas, Radcliffe-Brown, Benedict, Rappaport, Geertz, and Turner are joined by contemporary thinkers including Das, Ortner, Kwiatkowski, and Mattingly. What sets McGee and Warms\'s text apart from other collections are its introductions, footnotes, and index. Detailed introductions examine critical developments in theory, introduce key people, and discuss historical and personal influences on theorists. In extensive footnotes, the editors provide commentary that puts the writing in historical and cultural context, defines unusual terms, translates non-English phrases, identifies references to other scholars and their works, and offers paraphrases and summaries of complex passages. The notes identify and provide background information on hundreds of scholars and concepts important in the development of anthropology. This makes the essays more accessible to both students and current day scholars. An extensive index makes this book an invaluable reference tool. NEW TO THIS EDITION ?Zora Neale Hurston: From Of Mules and Men (1935) ?Roy Rappaport: Ritual Regulation of Environmental Relations among New Guinea People (1967) ?James P. Spradley: A Bucket Full of Tramps (1970) ?Eric R. Wolf: Facing Power--Old Insights, New Questions (1990) ?Tom Boellstorff: The Emergence of Political Homophobia in Indonesia: Masculinity and National Belonging (2004) ?Lynn Kwiatkowski: Feminist Anthropology: Approaching Domestic Violence in Northern Viet Nam (2016) ?Veena Das: Engaging with the Life of the Other: Love and Everyday Life (2010) ?Cheryl Mattingly: Luck, Friendship, and the Narrative Self (2014) Readings for a History of Anthropological Theory curates and collects many of the most important publications of anthropological thinking spanning the last hundred years, building a strong foundation in both classical and contemporary theory. The sixth edition includes seventeen new readings, with a sharpened focus on public anthropology, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, linguistic anthropology, archaeology, and the Anthropocene. Each piece of writing is accompanied by a short introduction, key terms, study questions, and further readings that elucidate the original text.On its own, or together with A History of Anthropological Theory, Sixth Edition, this anthology offers an unrivalled introduction to the theory of anthropology that reflects not only its history but also the changing nature of the discipline today. This innovative book is the first comprehensive synthesis of economic, political, and cultural theories of value. David Graeber reexamines a century of anthropological thought about value and exchange, in large measure to find a way out of quandaries in current social theory, which have become critical at the present moment of ideological collapse in the face of Neoliberalism. Rooted in an engaged, dynamic realism, Graeber argues that projects of cultural comparison are in a sense necessarily revolutionary projects: He attempts to synthesize the best insights of Karl Marx and Marcel Mauss, arguing that these figures represent two extreme, but ultimately complementary, possibilities in the shape such a project might take. Graeber breathes new life into the classic anthropological texts on exchange, value, and economy. He rethinks the cases of Iroquois wampum, Pacific kula exchanges, and the Kwakiutl potlatch within the flow of world historical processes, and recasts value as a model of human meaning-making, which far exceeds rationalist/reductive economist paradigms. For over twenty years, A History of Anthropological Theory has provided a strong foundation for understanding anthropological thinking, tracing how the discipline has evolved from its origins to the present day. The sixth edition of this important text offers substantial updates throughout, including more balanced coverage of the four fields of anthropology, an entirely new section on the Anthropocene, and significantly revised discussions of public anthropology, gender and sexuality, and race and ethnicity. Written in accessible prose and enhanced with illustrations, key terms, and study questions in each section, this text remains essential reading for those interested in studying the history of anthropology.On its own or used with the companion volume, Readings for a History of Anthropological Theory, sixth edition, this text provides comprehensive coverage in a flexible and easy-to-use format for teaching in the anthropology classroom. The sixth edition of this market-leading introduction to anthropological theory offers 43 seminal essays from 1860 through the present day, including six new essays from Kroeber, Benedict, Spradley, Wardlow, Ortner, and Gomberg-Munoz. Accessible introductions and commentary provide necessary background information and historical context of each article. This edition also features a new timeline and recommended additional readings. Presenting a selection of critical essays in anthropology from 1860 to the current day, this sixth edition of Anthropological Theory includes classic authors such as Tylor, Marx, Boas, Malinowski, Foucault, Turner, and Geertz as well as contemporary thinkers such as Appadurai, Abu-Lughod, and Bourgois. Most essays are reprinted without abridgement. Those that are shortened include notes explaining how much and what was removed. What sets McGee and Warms\' text apart from other readers are its introductions, footnotes, and index. Detailed introductions examine critical developments in theory, introduce key people and discuss historical and personal influences on theorists. In extensive footnotes the editors provide commentary that puts the writing in historical and cultural context, defines unusual terms, translates non-English phrases, identifies references to other scholars and their works, and offers paraphrases and summaries of complex passages. The notes identify and provide background information on hundreds of scholars and concepts important in the development of anthropology. This makes the essays more accessible to both students and current day scholars. An extensive index makes this book an invaluable reference tool. Alfred Gell puts forward a new anthropological theory of visual art, seen as a form of instrumental action: the making of things as a means of influencing the thoughts and actions of others. He argues that existing anthropological and aesthetic theories take an overwhelmingly passive point ofview, and questions the criteria that accord art status only to a certain class of objects and not to others. The anthropology of art is here reformulated as the anthropology of a category of action: Gell shows how art objects embody complex intentionalities and mediate social agency. He exploresthe psychology of patterns and perceptions, art and personhood, the control of knowledge, and the interpretation of meaning, drawing upon a diversity of artistic traditions--European, Indian, Polynesian, Melanesian, and Australian.Art and Agency was completed just before Alfred Gell\'s death at the age of 51 in January 1997. It embodies the intellectual bravura, lively wit, vigour, and erudition for which he was admired, and will stand as an enduring testament to one of the most gifted anthropologists of his generation. The fifth edition of this bestselling theory text has been revised throughout, with substantial updates, including more on gender and sexuality, and with a new section on Anthropologies of the Digital Age. Keyword definitions have been reinstated in the margins, and biographical information on theorists has been enhanced to build stronger context for readers. On its own or used with the companion volume, Readings for a History of Anthropological Theory[, this text provides comprehensive coverage in a flexible and easy-to-use format for teaching in the undergraduate anthropology classroom. For over twenty years, A History of Anthropological Theory has provided a strong foundation for understanding anthropological thinking, tracing how the discipline has evolved from its origins to the present day. The sixth edition of this important text offers substantial updates throughout, including more balanced coverage of the four fields of anthropology, an entirely new section on the Anthropocene, and significantly revised discussions of public anthropology, gender and sexuality, and race and ethnicity. Written in accessible prose and enhanced with illustrations, key terms, and study questions in each section, this text remains essential reading for those interested in studying the history of anthropology.On its own or used with the companion volume, Readings for a History of Anthropological Theory, sixth edition, this text provides comprehensive coverage in a flexible and easy-to-use format for teaching in the anthropology classroom. Readings for a History of Anthropological Theory curates and collects many of the most important publications of anthropological thinking spanning the last hundred years, building a strong foundation in both classical and contemporary theory. The sixth edition includes seventeen new readings, with a sharpened focus on public anthropology, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, linguistic anthropology, archaeology, and the Anthropocene. Each piece of writing is accompanied by a short introduction, key terms, study questions, and further readings that elucidate the original text.On its own, or together with A History of Anthropological Theory, Sixth Edition, this anthology offers an unrivalled introduction to the theory of anthropology that reflects not only its history but also the changing nature of the discipline today. This innovative book is the first comprehensive synthesis of economic, political, and cultural theories of value. David Graeber reexamines a century of anthropological thought about value and exchange, in large measure to find a way out of quandaries in current social theory, which have become critical at the present moment of ideological collapse in the face of Neoliberalism. Rooted in an engaged, dynamic realism, Graeber argues that projects of cultural comparison are in a sense necessarily revolutionary projects: He attempts to synthesize the best insights of Karl Marx and Marcel Mauss, arguing that these figures represent two extreme, but ultimately complementary, possibilities in the shape such a project might take. Graeber breathes new life into the classic anthropological texts on exchange, value, and economy. He rethinks the cases of Iroquois wampum, Pacific kula exchanges, and the Kwakiutl potlatch within the flow of world historical processes, and recasts value as a model of human meaning-making, which far exceeds rationalist/reductive economist paradigms.