Bronislaw Malinowski’s pathbreaking Argonauts of the Western Pacific is at once a detailed account of exchange in the Melanesian islands and a manifesto of a modernist anthropology. Malinowski argued that the goal of which the ethnographer should never lose sight is ‘to grasp the native’s point of view, his relation to life, to realise his vision of his world.’ Through vivid evocations of Kula life, including the building and launching of canoes, fishing expeditions and the role of myth and magic amongst the Kula people, Malinowski brilliantly describes an inter-island system of exchange - from gifts from father to son to swapping fish for yams - around which an entire community revolves. A classic of anthropology that did much to establish the primacy of painstaking fieldwork over the earlier anecdotal reports of travel writers, journalists and missionaries, it is a compelling insight into a world now largely lost from view. With a new foreword by Adam Kuper.

Product Description: This is the first collection of Radcliffe-Brown's work chosen to represent his books as well as his essays. It includes some classic pieces, and also one or two lesser-known items. Radcliffe-Brown was a pioneer who established structural, sociological anthropology, in the face of the entrenched traditions of ethnology and social evolutionism...read more

Product Description: A collection of seven papers by social anthropologists on the processes of decision-making in councils. Types of council described are one community-in-council, two arena councils, an elite council, two modern local government councils and a non-council, a temporary negotiating group which nevertheless displays certain features of the council proper...read more

The Invention of Primitive Society, Adam Kuper’s best selling critique of ideas about the origins of society and religion that have been much debated since Darwin, has been hugely influential in anthropology and post-colonial studies. This topical new edition, entitled The Reinvention of Primitive Society, has been thoroughly revised and updated to take account of new research in the field. It coincides with a revival of the myth of primitive society by the ‘indigenous peoples’ movement’, which taps into a widespread popular belief about the noble savage and reflects a romantic reaction against ‘civilisation’ and ‘science’. By way of fascinating accounts of classic texts in anthropology, classical studies and law, the book reveals how wholly mistaken theories can become the basis for academic research and political programmes. In new chapters, Kuper challenges this most recent version of the myth of primitive society and traces conceptions of the barbarian, savage and primitive back through the centuries to ancient Greece. Lucidly written and student friendly, this is the must-have text for those interested in anthropological theory and current post-colonial debates.

The Social Science Encyclopedia, first published in 1985 to acclaim from social scientists, librarians and students, was thoroughly revised in 1996, when reviewers began to describe it as a classic. This third edition has been radically recast. Over half the entries are new or have been entirely rewritten, and most of the balance have been substantially revised.Written by an international team of contributors, the Encyclopedia offers a global perspective on key issues within the social sciences. Some 500 entries cover a variety of enduring and newly vital areas of study and research methods. Experts review theoretical debates from neo-evolutionism and rational choice theory to poststructuralism, and address the great questions that cut across the social sciences. What is the influence of genes on behaviour? What is the nature of consciousness and cognition? What are the causes of poverty and wealth? What are the roots of conflict, wars, revolutions and genocidal violence?This authoritative reference work is aimed at anyone with a serious interest in contemporary academic thinking about the individual in society.

Product Description: De repente, la cultura parece poder explicarlo todo, desde las guerras civiles hasta las crisis financieras o las estadísticas de divorcio. Sin embargo, cuando hablamos de cultura, ¿qué queremos decir exactamente? Adam Kuper rastrea el concepto de cultura desde los debates de principios del siglo XX hasta su adopción por la s ciencias sociales norteamericanas bajo la tutela de Talcott Parsons...read more

Product Description: Suddenly culture seems to explain everything, from civil wars to financial crises and divorce rates. But when we speak of culture, what, precisely, do we mean?Adam Kuper pursues the concept of culture from the early twentieth century debates to its adoption by American social science under the tutelage of Talcott Parsons...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Ethnographies should be read as the products of a particular time and school and as individual worlds imbued with the personality and the experiences of their authors. Nonetheless, there are shared standards of argument and demonstration that also shape the end product...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: First published in 1992. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

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