Product Description
Dancing has its place in all societies; yet the phenomenon of dance has been oddly neglected by most anthropologists. This volume is intended to further anthropological awareness of its critical relevance. It is claimed that, in a very important sense, society creates the dance, and it is to society and not just to the dancer's experience that we must turn to understand its significance. Performance has meaning within social process. The anthropological analysis of dance can be approached in a variety of ways. These are identified in the introduction to the volume, and then illustrated by seven case examples drawn from Africa, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, and Oceanis. In successive chapters, dancing is presented as a controlled emotional outlet whose form reflects cosmology; as a creative experience that draws adolescent girls into the adult world; as an extension of speech and gesture that adds further levels of meaning to formal occasions; as a strategy for orchestrating the climax of a successful exchange; as a challenge to the power of elders that generates an alternative reality; as a communial response to crisis that recreates order out of confusion; and as a sequence of transformations that periodically resolves an inherent social dilemma. The volume concludes with an assessment of the relevance of the work by a dance scholar. By revealing dance as an aspect - often the most spectacular aspect - of ritual behaviour, this work is intended to stimulate more anthropologists and those in related disciplines to realise the full potential of its study. It also offers insights to those who are principally interested in dance itself, as well as appealing to any reader who shares a curiosity about the ways in which the spectacle of dance can be interpreted. ... Read more

Product Description
A general introduction to the study of the human race. It discusses the development and variety of a wide cross-section of social groups, identifying the common factors of homo sapiens. It also observes evolving trends, such as the break-up of many societies through globalization. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A pedestrian survey
Don't get me wrong:trying to sum up all that is anthropology these days is a daunting task, particularly when one attempts to do so for a general audience.But while Chris Hann's effort admirably encompasses the domains of economics, labor, politics, power, symbolism, kinship, and religion, it too often falls short of the mark.

A typical section from this book could be outlined thusly:

1) "Kinship" (or "economics" or "labor" or what have you) used to be defined in a certain way, but2) Today we can't really define it with any precision, which leads us to speculate that 3) The concept might not even exist for any practical purposes; nonetheless, 4) Anthropologists of one school of thought feel it should be defined in one way, while 5) Anthropologists of another school of thought feel it should be defined in another way; and 6) Perhaps both schools are correct to some extent; and finally 7) Here's an example from my research in Poland to illustrate.

This format is fine for the first few chapters but it doesn't hold up well throughout the book.I also found Hann's prose oddly opaque, even though the author (keeping his general audience in mind) avoids technical language and difficult social science jargon.

"Teach Yourself Social Anthropology" could be useful to you if you're trying to bone up on the field, but I hope that somewhere out there the general introduction has gotten more skillful treatment. ... Read more

Product Description
This concise introduction to biological anthropology discusses the core areas of the discipline within a unique framework modeled on the scientific method. Emphasizing themes and theories, the text presents facts as supportive evidence rather than dissociated pieces of information. Each chapter explores questions that get at the heart of the field, and then reexamines them in the same way that scientists generate and test hypotheses. Designed from its inception as a concise text, Biological Anthropology covers topics in a carefully managed level of detail, and offers examples of the everyday uses of biological anthropology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

precise and accurate
I really enjoythis book. The seller was precise and accurate when it came to deatais and shipping information.

Very Good Book!
This textbook is an easy, entertaining read. Nice, concise descriptions, clean layout, chapter summaries at the end of every chapter for the lazy reader. ... Read more

Product Description
This concise introduction to biological anthropology discusses the core areas of the discipline within a unique framework modeled on the scientific method. The text emphasizes themes and theories: facts are presented as supportive evidence rather than dissociated pieces of information. Each chapter poses questions that get at the heart of the field, answers them, and then reexamines them in the same way that scientists generate and test hypotheses. Unlike all other brief biological anthropology texts, this is not an abridged version of a longer text. Its presentation is fluid, well integrated, and covers all the standard topics in a carefully managed level of detail. Well-paced explanations, an inviting tone, and examples of the everyday uses of biological anthropology make the text a pleasure to read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Biological Anthropology Text
I used this textbook for a class and it was highly informative and, at the same time, readable. Even if you're not using it for a class, it's a good book to have if you want to learn about the basics of physical (biological) anthropology. Highly recommended.

Great tool
This book is one that my professor has used for a number of terms and will continue to use it.I found that it was nice having the definitions to words listed on the side of the page which helped me with comprehension.This book gives a good amount of information in concise short chapters.

Biological Anthropology
I ordered this book for a class, and it came on time and in really good condition. ... Read more

Product Description
Most studies of modern religious change have viewed it as a process of secularization in which the advance of science and technology discredits religious beliefs and destroys religious institutions. Yet religion has stubbornly failed to expire in the West, and in some places is undergoing a resurgence. This book reconsiders secularization theory through a case study of arural island in Denmark where, in the late nineteenth century, a series of powerful religious awakenings electrified its population, dividing it into several large and intense Lutheran movements. After examining the history and social structure of those Protestant groups and revealing their cultural and ideological complexity, the author concludes that the secularization theory is inadequate and that an anthropological approach, focusing on religion's role in creating identity and community for its members, offers much better insight into religious processes. ... Read more

Product Description
Now more accessible and student-friendly in this full-color seventh edition, Cultural Anthropology: A Perspective on the Human Condition explores how cultural creativity, human agency, and the material conditions of everyday life interact together to shape human cultural practices. It stresses contemporary applications and human narratives across cultures, focusing on how people bring meaning to the world and transform it through practical action. Offering solid coverage of traditional topics, the authors incorporate cutting-edge theory and explain complex ideas in accessible language. They pay special attention to issues of power and inequality in the contemporary world, including gender inequalities, racism, ethnic discrimination, nationalism, caste, and class.
Covering the material in fifteen concise chapters, Cultural Anthropology is ideal for introductory courses. It exposes students to alternative perspectives from non-anthropologists and indigenous peoples through "In Their Own Words" commentaries, and it provides ethnographic summaries of each society discussed at length in the text in "EthnoProfile" boxes. The text also features many pedagogical aids including key terms, a running glossary, chapter summaries, maps, and annotated suggestions for further reading. An Instructor's Manual and Computerized Test Bank and a Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/culturalanthro provide additional helpful resources, including a student guide with extensive study skill tips and chapter review tests. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Met Expectations
I received the book 4 days before the earliest possible date. I am very happy with how quickly it got to me. Also, the book was in the exact condition as described.
Overall, I am super pleased!

ASB102 TEXT MR. McCAIG-PHOENIX COLLEGE
I started reading the text in preparation for
Spring Semester '10 and it seems very interesting.
My instructor chose this book as opposed to another text that another instructor chose for her
class.
I like the ETHNO PROFILES--and the book is well-
written, I believe. and well-illustrated.
I won't know for sure about this product until
I get into it starting January 19, 2010

just as good as a used book from school, but cheaper
I am taking Anthro 201 and really only use the book for vocab. the one nice thing is that the book places definitions of each highlighted term at the bottom of the page for easy viewing ... Read more

Product Description
For undergraduate-level courses in Ethnographic Field Methods and Introduction to Cultural Anthropology.Unlike other ethnographic field manuals -- which are either written for the graduate or professional levels or are narrowly restrictive in their methodological approach -- this manual focuses specifically on the needs of introductory-level students. It takes them by the hand and leads them step-by-step through the entire process -- through tasks that range from simple to complex and that invite students to use their own lives as tools to understand various categories of culture. This task-oriented and reflective approach makes this the first field manual to emphasize the investigative instrument (the ethnographer) as well as the cultural situations, informants, and techniques of analysis. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Learn ethnography by doing ethnography.
This ethnography book does not read like a textbook, and it is not intended to be one.Instead, it is a project manual, briefly outlining five ethnographic assignments, and then including a number of papers from various students as examples.

The book is deliberately low on theory, and approaches ethnography from a more postmodern point of view, encouraging students to be reflexive and to write of their personal experiences and emotions.At the same time, the author states the importance of separating data from analysis, to help the ethnographer be more objective.The analysis of the data, where the ethnographer interprets the motives and emotions, is important but separate.He also gives further readings at the end of each assignment, knowing that this book does not go into much depth in either theory or practice.

The whole purpose of this book is teach ethnography by doing ethnography.The first three assignments are short and are designed to get the inexperienced student started in ethnography.The project descriptions are only about two pages long, and then each assignment has several example papers.The first is the map and description of a block, the second is a retrospective assignment on private language, and the third assignment is to study body language.All of these assignments help to sharpen the eye of the student in areas where they need to be observant.

The final two assignments are much bigger.One is a study on ritual, and the final assignment Kutsche calls "The Big Ethnography."This project is designed to last about a month.The final 100 pages of the book are devoted to eight exemplary student ethnographies.

Although the book was enjoyable to read, its strength really would come from actually doing the assignments, and if a class were not willing to do so, I think another book would be more appropriate.It is designed for an introductory class in ethnography, and is not written to be a reference for a field ethnographer, or for an advanced ethnography student.

In general I found the book somewhat refreshing in that it had short descriptions of the assignments, and then lots of case studies.For an introductory class in ethnography, it could be a good book if the professor was willing to have the students go through the assignments.But I would recommend the professor read the book through first before deciding to use it as a project manual. ... Read more

Product Description
Introducing Cultural Anthropology, a short yet comprehensive anchor text, is an approachable, full-color introduction to cultural anthropology. This edition continues to provide students with the opportunity to explore anthropology's relevance to their own lives. Unique opening vignettes draw students into each chapter while the rich visual program allows professors to use a brief text without sacrificing visual appeal. "Try This" exercises encourage students to think critically and apply anthropological concepts, perspectives and methods, and the "Anthropology Around Us" boxes focus on the application of anthropological concepts featured in each chapter. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great book
I had to get this book for my Anthropology class. The author is very easy to understand and even has a website for other helpful tools. If you need it, get it, because it's worth it.

Need for college course
Great discount on Amazon.com price compared to college book store. She hasn't commented on content but it was just the book she needed for her class. Shipped quickly and in great condition.

Introducing Cultural Anthropology
Great easy to read text, that while a little light and soft at times on the concepts, provides a great overview of the field ... Read more

Product Description
Focused on the appreciation of anthropology, the new edition of Anthropology: Appreciating Human Diversity offers an up-to-date holistic introduction to general anthropology from the four-field perspective. Key themes of appreciating the experiences students bring to the classroom, appreciating human diversity, and appreciating the field of anthropology are showcased throughout the text.In this edition, Understanding Ourselves chapter openers and Through the Eyes of Others boxes show how anthropology helps us understand ourselves. New Appreciating Diversity boxes focus on the various forms of human biological and cultural diversity.Appreciating Anthropology boxes are also new to the text and focus on the value and usefulness of anthropological research and approaches. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Exactly What I Wanted
It came on-time. It was packed well. It was in perfect condition. What More can one ask? ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Mao rules
This is an excellent reader. Superb. Extremely funny essays from "publish or perish" series. As a student, I wasn't "frustrated by the lack of references, footnotes, and endnotes" at all.But, still, for a Stalinist/Maoist anthropology professor it may look so. (Talking about representation - who represents whom). I have no intentions, of course, of refuting Stalinist ravings. It is just as meaningless as these ridiculous "front lines" stories.

Decent overview but lacking in references, footnotes
An interesting and broad overview to Anthropology, but students may be frustrated by the lack of references, footnotes, and endnotes. ... Read more

Product Description
This comprehensive and scientific introduction to cultural anthropology helps students understand how humans vary culturally and why they got to be that way.  This new edition highlights migration and immigration in the context of globalization. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

great condition
the book arrived very quickly in "lke new" condition. I was very pleased with the product.

Reliable seller
Very nice book. Was as described. The description was accurate; and the seller turned out to be reputable. Will deal with again should I require more.

Happy with purchase......
We had a mix up with the shipping but the seller was quick at responding and resolving situation. If asked if I would purchase from seller again, yes I would.

Great purchase
This book is in excellent condition. I was very pleased with the shipping & the item.

Cultural Anthropology book
the book that i order was excellent.it was very cheap and it came to my house in less then two days(i thought it was going to take a week!).if i had to buy another book from amazon.com i would buy it from this seller. ... Read more

Product Description

The ultimate guide for the student encountering anthropology for the first time, Anthropology: The Basics explains and explores key anthropological concepts including:

• what is anthropology?
• how can we distinguish cultural differences from physical ones?
• what is culture, anyway?
• how do anthropologists study culture?
• what are the key theories and approaches used today?
• How has the discipline changed over time?

This student-friendly text provides an overview of the fundamental principles of anthropology and is an invaluable guide for anyone wanting to learn more about this fascinating subject.

Customer Reviews (2)

BO
NOT SO MUCH A REVIEW AS THE AUTHOR'S ATTEMPT TO
MAKE SURE THAT RACE AND CURRENT OPINIONS OF THE OBSERVER DON'T
INFLUENCE RESEARCH AND IMPRESSIONS OF OBSERVED GROUPS.
WHILE ADMIRABLE, IT DIDN'T REALLY TELL ME WHAT ANTHROPOLOGY IS.
IT ALSO SPENT A LOT OF TIME TELLING WHAT ANTHROPOLGISTS DID WRONG
IN THE PAST, WHEN INFLUENCED BY RACIAL AND "CURRENT CULTURE" ARROGANCE.
ALSO A LOT OF DESCRIPTION OF OF BASIC RESEARCH.

REALLY DIDN'T GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT ALL, AND
COMING FROM A MATH/PHYCIS BACKGROUND THIS WAS WHAT I WANTED.
I AM CURRENTLY READING WINDOW ON HUMANITY BY KOTTAK WHICH IS
ACTUALLY A GOOD OVERVIEW OF ANTHROPOLOGY

Good intro to anthropology, but intros can only do so much.
Metcalf's approach to anthropology is admirable because it consciously incorporates self-critical aspects I feel are important for anthropology novices to be aware of and understand. Many anthropology texts cover only in passing some of the inherent problems of the field, not giving, in my opinion, the proper impression that anthropology is currently a field in flux, one that is constantly in the process of reinventing itself. Metcalf establishes this clearly, covering thoroughly and repeatedly central themes like cultural relativism, the relationship between anthropology and imperialism, and the sticky issue of power relations between ethnographers and informants.

So four stars for taking this fresh approach, but negative 1 star for the style: I can't blame him, because he is treading the academic minefield of explaining complex issues in an introductory text, however, I really did think Metcalf erred on the side of simplicity on this one. Metcalf's text is critical of anthropology, and criticism of anthropological methods usually involes a call for a more complex, nuanced understanding of indigenous peoples/gender/sexuality/whatever. Yet, in the enthusiastic rush to elaborate this criticism in an introductory text, Metcalf often makes the types of generalizations that he claims anthropology should try to avoid. This mistake doesn't happen too much... but it certainly leaps out from the page at you when the last two paragraphs you read are exactly about the inadequacies and insidious malice of generalizing. ... Read more

Product Description
The Earth People of Trinidad draw on Yoruba sources to assert the particular power of female creativity.This first new Caribbean religion since Rastafari is led by a woman, Mother Earth, whose ideas emerged from her experience of a cerebral disease.The author, Roland Littlewood, who is both a psychiatrist and a social anthropologist, offers a nonreductionist view on the relationship between pathology and creativity, between the natural and the human sciences. ... Read more

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This fourth edition of our bestselling text has been comprehensively updated and revised to include contemporary film analysis and recent films.

With a focus on contemporary popular cinema and examples from Classical Hollywood, Graeme Turner examines the social and cultural aspects of film from audiences and ideologies to exhibition and technology.

This fourth edition now includes:

• new sections dealing with debates about spectacle and special effects
• an extended treatment of sound and its contribution to cinema
• film theory’s discussion of the representation of race and ethnicity
• a thorough update of individual film references
• a revised applications chapter that includes new contemporary examples
• new illustrations from contemporary popular cinema.

Students of film studies, film practice and film theory will find this a welcome addition to their degree course studies.

Customer Reviews (1)

An overview of the impact of film on society.
This book makes a good text for beginning film students who need an understanding of film history as well as a picture of the ways media affect our lives.It presents film as interactive, not only in terms of the immediate experience, but in the ways audiences affect the daily decisions made in the business and in the ways today's educated film goers affect the uses directors and writers can make of the medium. Readers gain insight into the mysterious ways movies are born, into the major film theories, and into the way film-makers see their movies as part of a larger social context. The lay reader with a general interest in film will find the chapter on Westerns interesting because it explores a genre in depth and reveals how the movies see genre as a symbolic language.Although the word "genre"itself appears frequently in film reviews, readers generally do not seem to fully understand its importance to the movie business. The book summarizescreative, economic, and historical issues regarding film as a pervasive influence in our lives as more and more movies extend themselves into markets beyond the entity of the celluloid itself.All the peripherals such as action toys, books, music, videos, cereal, clothing, etc. are explored tohelp us realize the global impact movies have throughout our daily existence. If you like the movies and want to understand more about them as a world wide phenomenon, this is a good overview. ... Read more

Product Description
Robin Fox's study of systems of kinship and alliance has become an established classic of the social science literature. It has been praised above all for its liveliness of style and clarity of exposition in an area that students and general readers have found difficult to master. It was the first attempt to produce an overview of this central subject and has maintained its unique position over the years. Fox's reconciliation of 'descent' and 'alliance' theories, and his 'deductive' approach to the logic of kinship systems based on four universal premises, give the book its distinctive flavour and make it not only the best available introductory text but a contribution to theory in its own right. It has been used throughout the world as an introduction for both academic and lay readers and has been translated into numerous languages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent overview of a complicated subject.
Kinship and Marraige can be a very complicated subject. Fox covers it withgood examples, diagrams, and text that is easy and amusing to read. It isan excellent textbook, but a good read in its own right. ... Read more

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This international collection of essays offers a new approach to the understanding of imperial Ethiopia, out of which the present state was created by the 1974 revolution. After the 1880s, Abyssinia, under Menilek II, expanded its ancient heartland to incorporate vast new territories to the south. Here, for the first time, these regions are treated as an integral part of the empire. The book opens with an interpretation of nineteenth-century Abyssinia as an African political economy, rather than as a variant on European feudalism, and with an account of the north's impact on peoples of the new south. Case studies from the southern regions follow four by historians and four by anthropologists, each examining aspects of the relationship between imperial rule and local society. In revealing the region's diversity and the relationship of the periphery to the centre, the volume illuminates some of the problems faced by postrevolutionary Ethiopia. ... Read more

Product Description
In this powerful, timely study Ronald Niezen examines the processes by which cultural concepts are conceived and collective rights are defended in international law. Niezen argues that cultivating support on behalf of those experiencing human rights violations often calls for strategic representations of injustice and suffering to distant audiences. The positive impulse behind public responses to political abuse can be found in the satisfaction of justice done. But the fact that oppressed peoples and their supporters from around the world are competing for public attention is actually a profound source of global difference, stemming from differential capacities to appeal to a remote, unknown public. Niezen's discussion of the impact of public opinion on law provides fresh insights into the importance of legally-constructed identity and the changing pathways through which it is being shaped - crucial issues for all those with an interest in anthropology, politics and human rights law. ... Read more

Product Description
In a historical account of the development of cognitive anthropology, Roy D'Andrade examines how cultural knowledge is organized within and between human minds. He begins by examining research carried out in the 1950s and 1960s concerned with how different cultures classify kinship relationships and the natural environment, and then traces the development of more complex cognitive theories of classification in anthropology that took place in the 1970s and 1980s. Finally, current work involving cultural models, emotion, motivation, and action is considered, along with a cognitive perspective on the nature of culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

From cultural categories to connectionist models
D'Andrade's Development of Cognitive Anthropology provides a much-needed historical overview of this branch of psychological anthropology since the 1950s.It is especially useful for two reasons.First, it draws togetherstudies from a diverse set of related fields: cross-cultural psychology,psycholinguistics, developmental psychology, ethnoscience and latestructuralist anthropology, and modern connectionist theory in cognitivepsychology.Cognitive anthropologists, unlike most other socio-culturalanthropologists, have tended to produce articles in specialist journals,rather than accessible books.(This is now changing, with severalexcellent books published in the 1990s by D'Andrade, Claudia Strauss, NaomiQuinn, and Bradd Shore, among others.)This book provides a summary of ourknowledge about cross-cultural variation in many areas of human cognition,which would otherwise be very difficult to find.Second, D'Andrade drawson his own experience as a key player in this field since the late 1950s,showing the intellectual genealogies within the field, and showing thesuccession of unifying concepts leading up to modern connectionist theory.

How Culture Impacts Psychological Processes
Overall, an informative glimspse of the fairly short history, and important aspects of cognitive anthropology.This work starts out detailing the initial concepts which helped form, what is today, a growingbranch of anthropology.Dr. D'Andrade's format for DCA makes itscontents and important concepts extremely organized and accessible,respectively.Although many may initially consider this topic dry, whenDr. D'Andrade delves into schema theories, cultural models andpsychological and cognitive processes the reader's interest is sure toheighten.This is in part due to the manner in which the information canimmediately be applied to an analysis of one's self.Though this iscertainly not a text whose value may be truly appreciated with a quickone-time-over, there is a wealth of fascinating, well-structured andexampled information available for those willing to invest some thought. ... Read more