This new dictionary comprises more than 400 entries, providing concise, authoritative definitions for a range of concepts relating to cultural anthropology, as well as important findings and intellectual figures in the field. Entries include adaptation and kinship, scientific racism, and writing culture, providing readers with a wide-ranging overview of the subject. Accessibly written and engaging, A Dictionary of Cultural Anthropology is authored by subject experts, and presents anthropology as a dynamic and lively field of enquiry. Complemented by a global list of anthropological organizations, more than 20 figures and tables to illustrate the entries, and web links pointing to useful external sources, this is an essential text for undergraduates studying anthropology, and also serves those studying allied subjects such as archaeology, politics, economics, geography, sociology, and gender studies.

In addition to covering the primary centers of production in the United States and Britain, this volume also includes leading anthropologists from a wide range of regions and backgrounds. Combining valuable essays on seminal historical figures, as well as entries on the foremost scholars of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, this unique reference offers an important overview of the historical and contemporary reach of anthropological research. With nearly 600 signed entries from a global team of contributors, this comprehensive work is destined to be the definitive reference source for authoritative information on the historical and contemporary key figures in the field.

This detailed and comprehensive guide provides biographical information on the most influential and significant figures in world anthropology, from the birth of the discipline in the nineteenth century to the present day. Each of the fifteen chapters focuses on a national tradition or school of thought, outlining its central features and placing the anthropologists within their intellectual contexts. Fully indexed and cross-referenced, The Routledge Dictionary of Anthropologists will prove indispensable for students of anthropology.

The Dictionary of Anthropology is designed to become the standard reference guide to the discipline of social and cultural anthropology. Its core consists of substantial analytical articles focusing on key anthropological concepts, theories and methodologies.

Practical and accessible, this dictionary is designed to enlightenthose newly engaged in anthropological study or seeking a quickguide to the field. Fills a need for a beginner’s pocket guide to thefar-reaching and complex field of anthropology, including over 800detailed entries and the intellectual background of terms Written in plain, jargon-free language, for readers withoutextensive background in the field Features brief, conceptual definitions of terms,bibliographical references to anthropological classics, relatedworks for background reading and further research The user-friendly format includes bold terms featured elsewherein the book, extensive cross-references, and indexes of names,peoples, places and subjects Incorporates related terminology from allied fields such associology, economics and geography

4e de couverture : Anthropology is one of the most challenging and rapidly expanding areas of human knowledge today. This Dictionary aims to be a useful guide to the subject for the student and interested layman as well as for the academic anthropologist. It is unique in the existing literature in providing in a single volume coverage of basic concepts, key theoretical issues and the work of some 250 British, American and European anthropologists. It covers the subject from the early ethnographers to the most recent research, offering clear definitions of such formidable topics as the work of Levi-Strauss or the influence of semiology. The 2000 entries are fully cross-referenced and are supplemented by an extensive bibliography. Aimed primarily at students, it should provide useful reference not only for anthropologists, but for students of related disciplines at a time when the academic reputation of the subject, and the need for historians, sociologists, political scientists among others to be familiar with its central concepts and thinkers has never been so great.

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.