Social and Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction
"If you want to know what anthropology is, look at what anthropologists do," write the authors of Social and Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction. This engaging overview of the field combines an accessible account of some of the discipline's guiding principles and methodology with abundant examples and illustrations of anthropologists at work.
Twenty-five years ago, Berlin and Kay argued that there are commonalities of basic color term use that extend across languages and cultures, and probably express universal features of perception and cognition. In this volume, a distinguished team of contributors from visual science, psychology, linguistics and anthropology examine how these claims have fared in the light of current knowledge, surveying key ideas, results and techniques from the study of human color vision as well as field methods and theoretical interpretations drawn from linguistic anthropology.
In this clear, concise, and well-written book, Alland provides his readers with a measured, thoughtful and compelling critique of historical and contemporary theories about the supposed genetic basis for group (i.e., racial) differences in social achievement and intelligence. In short: a modern critical approach to the "races" concept.
When did the first civilizations arise? How many human languages exist? The answers are found in anthropology - and this friendly guide explains its concepts in clear detail. You'll see how anthropology developed as a science, what it tells us about our ancestors, and how it can help with some of the hot-button issues our world is facing today.
Although very basic indeed, this books should be a compulsory reading for all Englishtipsers who want to understand all humans - as a species :) Highly recommended! - stovokor
Using cultural anthropology to analyze debates that reverberate throughout the human sciences, George E. Marcus and Michael M. J. Fischer look closely at cultural anthropology's past accomplishments, its current predicaments, its future direction, and the insights it has to offer other fields of study. The result is a provocative work that is important for scholars interested in a critical approach to social science, art, literature, and history, as well as anthropology.
