Best of
Anthropology

1979

Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste


Pierre Bourdieu - 1979
    Bourdieu's subject is the study of culture, and his objective is most ambitious: to provide an answer to the problems raised by Kant's Critique of Judgment by showing why no judgment of taste is innocent."A complex, rich, intelligent book. It will provide the historian of the future with priceless materials and it will bring an essential contribution to sociological theory."— Fernand Braudel "One of the more distinguished contributions to social theory and research in recent years . . . There is in this book an account of culture, and a methodology of its study, rich in implication for a diversity of fields of social research. The work in some ways redefines the whole scope of cultural studies."— Anthony Giddens, Partisan Review"A book of extraordinary intelligence." — Irving Louis Horowitz, Commonweal“Bourdieu’s analysis transcends the usual analysis of conspicuous consumption in two ways: by showing that specific judgments and choices matter less than an esthetic outlook in general and by showing, moreover, that the acquisition of an esthetic outlook not only advertises upper-class prestige but helps to keep the lower orders in line. In other words, the esthetic world view serves as an instrument of domination. It serves the interests not merely of status but of power. It does this, according to Bourdieu, by emphasizing individuality, rivalry, and ‘distinction’ and by devaluing the well-being of society as a whole.”— Christopher Lasch, Vogue

Mind and Nature


Gregory Bateson - 1979
    It summarizes Bateson's thinking on the subject of the patterns that connect living beings to each other and to their environment.

Motel of the Mysteries


David Macaulay - 1979
    Imagine, then, the excitement that Howard Carson, an amateur archeologist at best, experienced when in crossing the perimeter of an abandoned excavation site he felt the ground give way beneath him and found himself at the bottom of a shaft, which, judging from the DO NOT DISTURB sign hanging from an archaic doorknob, was clearly the entrance to a still-sealed burial chamber. Carson's incredible discoveries, including the remains of two bodies, one of then on a ceremonial bed facing an altar that appeared to be a means of communicating with the Gods and the other lying in a porcelain sarcophagus in the Inner Chamber, permitted him to piece together the whole fabric of that extraordinary civilization.

The Practical Implications of Calvinism


Albert N. Martin - 1979
    True Christianity involves a sight of the majesty of God and calls for a godly life.

African Rhythm and African Sensibility: Aesthetics and Social Action in African Musical Idioms


John M. Chernoff - 1979
    . . . Not many scholars will ever be able to achieve the kind of synthesis of 'doing' and 'writing about' their subject matter that Chernoff has achieved, but he has given us an excellent illustration of what is possible."—Chet Creider, Culture"Chernoff develops a brilliant and penetrating musicological essay that is, at the same time, an intensely personal and even touching account of musical and cultural discovery that anyone with an interest in Africa can and should read. . . . No other writing comes close to approaching Chernoff's ability to convey a feeling of how African music 'works'"—James Koetting, Africana Journal"Four stars. One of the few books I know of that talks of the political, social, and spiritual meanings of music. I was moved. It was so nice I read it twice."—David Byrne of "Talking Heads"The companion cassette tape has 44 examples of the music discussed in the book. It consists of field recordings illustrating cross-rhythms, multiple meters, call and response forms, etc.

Gods of Love and Ecstasy: The Traditions of Shiva and Dionysus


Alain Daniélou - 1979
    Revealing the earliest sources of the traditions of Shiva and Dionysus, Alain Danielou reconstructs the fabric of our ancient relationship with creation, vividly relating practices that were observed from the Indus Valley to the coasts of Portugal at least six thousand years ago.

Songs of Gods, Songs of Humans: The Epic Tradition of the Ainu


Donald L. Philippi - 1979
    This collection and English translation by Donald Philippi contains thirty-three representative selections from a number of epic genres including mythic epics, culture hero epics, women's epics, and heroic epics. This is the first time, outside of Japan, that the Ainu epic folklore has been treated in a comprehensive manner.Originally published in 1979.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The Evolution of Human Sexuality


Donald Symons - 1979
    The Evolution of Human Sexuality adds fuel to the fire. Symons's thesis is that some of the typical differences between men and women in sexual behaviors, attitudes and feelings are innate: identical rearing of males and females will not result in identical sexualities.Anthropology, Sexual Studies, Psychology, Sociology, Gender and Cultural Studies

The Ethnographic Interview


James P. Spradley - 1979
    The text also teaches students how to analyze the data they collect, and how to write an ethnography. The appendices include research questions and writing tasks.

Cultural Materialism


Marvin Harris - 1979
    While Harris has developed and modified some of his ideas over the past two decades, generations of professors have looked to this volume as the essential starting point for explaining the science of culture to students. Now available again after a hiatus, this edition of Cultural Materialism contains the complete text of the original book plus a new introduction by Orna and Allen Johnson that updates his ideas and examines the impact that the book and theory have had on anthropological theorizing.

Untouchable: An Indian Life History


James M. Freeman - 1979
    . . . It also has broader implications for the understanding of oppressed peoples throughout the world. . . . The volume includes certain topics that have received little attention from anthropologists. There are chapters on 'oath friendships, ' transvestites (male prostitutes), a symbolic marriage to a tree trunk, and several devastating chapters about the sexual exploitation of Bauri women by high-caste men. The text is full of rich information on social roles, family structure, marriage customs, and dishonesty among bureaucrats, priests, farmers, and even fellow Bauris." ---James J. Preston, "Journal of Psychological Anthropology"

To Dance is Human: A Theory of Nonverbal Communication


Judith Lynne Hanna - 1979
    Dance is human thought and feeling expressed through the body: it is at once organized physical movement, language, and a system of rules appropriate in different social situations. Hanna offers a theory of dance, drawing on work in anthropology, semiotics, sociology, communications, folklore, political science, religion, and psychology as well as the visual and performing arts. A new preface provides commentary on recent developments in dance research and an updated bibliography.

A Better Guide Than Reason: Federalists & Anti-Federalists


M.E. Bradford - 1979
    E. Bradford defines the Old Whig political tradition in American thought, showing that the inheritance of the prescriptive anti-federalists still lives. For Bradford, important elements in our heritage from the American Revolution have been systematically hidden from our view by anachronistic and partisan scholarship. He believes that other, more ideological components have been emphasized at the expense of the rest. Here he attempts to return us to our heritage.A Better Guide than Reason is a unique book due to its unusual focus on the Declaration of Independence. Bradford shows that neither equality of condition nor full equality of individual rights for every inhabitant is foreseen by that document, only constitutional equality. For this reason, many scholars have seen a contradiction between the Declaration of 1776 and the Constitution of 1787. Bradford believes that the American Revolution was fought against concentrated power, and asserts that the Declaration is violated whenever such powers are granted in its name.Russell Kirk, in a poignant new introduction, depicts Bradford as "a formidable and learned champion of the permanent things in our patrimony of culture and politics." He discusses Bradford's view that Patrick Henry and John Dickinson were the real heroes of the American Revolutionary period. This volume is of continuing interest to historians, political scientists, and American studies scholars. Professor Jeffrey Hart has called the book "a masterful phenomenology of the American and Western Spirit."

The College of Sociology (1937–39)


Denis HollierAlexandre Kojève - 1979
    However diverse their views and interests, they shared a primary intent: to counter anarchistic individualism of the Surrealists by seeking to understand how close knit communities formed. To this end, they propose the notion of a "sacred sociology" which would explore these phenomenons that draw individuals together in voluntary communion: brotherhood, secret societies, churches and armies. Now translated into English for the first time, The College of Sociology brings together all the relevant texts produced by members – lectures, articles, letters and notes – that set each text within its cultural and political context.

Ishi the Last Yahi: A Documentary History


Robert F. Heizer - 1979
    For the reader who wishes to know something of the sources from which the story flows, there are reproduced here the principal out-of-print and most inaccessible primary materials on Ishi and the Yahi Indians. Of first importance are monographs on Ishi, his people, his languages, his medical history, whose authors are Professors Thomas T. Waterman, Alfred L. Kroeber, Edward Sapir, and Saxton T. Pope, M.D. Most of these monographs are here reprinted in full. Next in interest and importance are the books of reminiscences concerning the Yahi Indians written by white settlers in or adjacent to Yahi country in the years following closely upon the gold rush. These are usually in small editions, long out of print. Two, those written by Carson and R. A. Anderson, are reprinted in full; the others, only those parts having to do with Ishi and the Yahi. There are letters bearing on our subject, newspaper accounts, and pictures, of which we include significant examples. There are as well books and articles having to do only in part with Ishi and his people. We reprint only those parts.  Beyond these essential primary materials, the editors made hard choices to keep the number of pages realistic. Readers with areas of special interest will regret some of our exclusions among the secondary but often fascinating accounts: of archaeological findings in the Yahi homeland; of linguistic quirks and grammatical technicalities--a large literature, difficult for the uninitiate; of medical history when it adds nothing to our understanding of the man Ishi. Our order of presentation is chronological, beginning with the background materials, then going to Ishi's first entry into the outside world, then to his years at the museum, and, finally, to his death. We have not included the occasional newspaper stories of still-living Yahi Indians supposed to have been seen or heard in the Yahi hills and caves after Ishi's departure, since none were ever substantiated. When in 1914 Ishi returned to his old home for a few weeks with Waterman, Kroeber, Pope, and Pope's son, Saxton, Jr., he found the land, the caves, and the village sites as he had left them.

Carnivals, Rogues, and Heroes: An Interpretation of the Brazilian Dilemma


Roberto DaMatta - 1979
    Renowned Brazilian anthropologist Roberto DaMatta takes the misconceptions and offers a fresh, provocative interpretation of the complexity of social structure in Brazil.Using the tools of comparative social anthropology, DaMatta seeks to understand his native country by examining the values, attitudes, and systems that shape the identity of Brazil and its people. He probes the dilemma between the highly authoritarian, hierarchal aspects of Brazilain society and the concurrent desire for equality, democracy, and harmony in that same society.DaMatta leads us on a fascinating exploration into the the world of Brazilian carnivals, rogues, and heroes, and in so doing uncovers a deeper meaning of the rituals, symbols, and dramatizations unique to Brazil and its multifaceted society.

Australian Dreaming: 40,000 Years of Aboriginal History


Jennifer Isaacs - 1979
    It recounts epic travels of the Great Spirit Ancestors and tells how they created the animals and plants and gave birth to the earliest people of this land.

Man's Conquest of the Pacific: The Prehistory of Southeast Asia and Oceania


Peter Bellwood - 1979
    Particular attention is given in the book of the history of human settlement and development of the islands of Oceania.The monograph is interdisciplinary in nature. In his study, the author draws on the latest data of archeology, anthropology, ethnography, linguistics.

Zuñi: Selected Writings


Frank Hamilton Cushing - 1979
    Learning the language and winning acceptance as a member not only of the tribe but of the tribal council and the Bow Priesthood, he was the original participant observer and the only man in history to hold the double title of "1st War Chief of Zuñi, U. S. Ass't Ethnologist." A pioneer in southwestern ethnology, he combined the discipline of science with a remarkable imaginative capacity for identifying with Indian modes of thought and perception—and corresponding gifts of expression.

Tents: Architecture Of The Nomads


Torvald Faegre - 1979
    

Lacandon Dream Symbolism: Dream Symbolism and Interpretation Among the Lacandon Maya


Robert H. Bruce - 1979
    

Kwakiutl Art


Audrey Hawthorn - 1979
    Even after white culture began to interfere with the Indians' traditional living patterns, their art, firmly rooted in ceremony, continued to flourish and produced an exuberant array of carved masks, house posts, totem poles, feast dishes, rattles, whistles, and other objects.In 1927, the beginnings of what is now a superb collection of Kwakiutl art were assembled at the University of British Columbia. Audrey Hawthorn has played a key role in helping the collection grow. Kwakiutl Art celebrates, documents, and illustrates some of the finest examples of this art and the carvers who created it.

From Temple To Meeting House: The Phenomenology And Theology Of Places Of Worship


Harold W. Turner - 1979
    

Chippewa Customs


Frances Densmore - 1979
    . . has done a valuable piece of work for posterity by collecting this material."--Minnesota History

Symbol, Myth, and Culture: Essays and Lectures of Ernst Cassirer, 1935-1945


Ernst Cassirer - 1979
    The papers in this volume of Ernst Cassirer’s unpublished works give insight into the major issues that engaged Cassirer’s interest between 1935 and 1945.  The book begins with his inaugural address at the University of Göteborg, Sweden, in the first years of his exile from Hitler’s Germany, and ends with a talk to the Columbia Philosophy Club.  The note that introduces this piece was written on the day of his death.  In his long and productive career, Ernst Cassirer always tried to integrate his works of original philosophy and studies in intellectual history into a general understanding of the nature of myth, culture, and symbol.  These essays show that his interest persisted to the end.  His piece on Judaism and political myths is perhaps the most dramatic in this collection, as it blends philosophical coolness with his deeply felt outrage at fascism.  Best known in this country for The Myth of the State, The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms, and An Essay on Man, Ernst Cassirer has been read and studied by generations of students.  In this book they will find illuminations, in a more informal voice, of the major themes in Cassirer’s work.  New readers will be introduced to the great issues that occupied the interest of one of the twentieth century’s most widely read philosophers.  “A genuine contribution to the history of modern philosophy – and of special value to the informed general reader, since it includes a number of valid attempts by Cassirer to translate his radical, sometimes difficult, concepts of culture into non-technical terms.”-- The Booklist

Transaction and Meaning: Directions in the Anthropology of Exchange and Symbolic Behavior (Asa Essays in Social Anthropology Ser: Vol 1)


Bruce Kapferer - 1979
    

Continuity and Change in Roman Religion


J.H.W.G. Liebeschuetz - 1979
    Liebeschuetz focuses on the development of the Roman public religion, particularly the relation between Roman religion and morality.

Margaret Mead, some personal views


Margaret Mead - 1979
    Foreword / by Rhoda Metraux --Men and women --Children --Contemporary society --Primitive peoples --Government and politics --Parenthood : pleasures and problems --Religion --Our quirks and crotchets --Education --The human condition --Personal choices --Afterword / by Sey Chassler.

People of the Totem: The Indians of the Pacific Northwest


Werner Forman - 1979
    

Contemplation and Action in World Religions: Selected Papers from the Rothko Chapel Colloquium "Traditional Modes of Contemplation and Action"


Yusuf Ibish - 1979
    

Ainu Creed & Cult


Neil Gordon Munro - 1979
    Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.