Publisher description

What do we mean when we refer to the world? How does the world relate to the human person? Are the two interdependent and, if so, in what way? What does the world mean for the ethnographer and the anthropologist? Much has been said of worlds and worldviews, but are we really certain we know what we mean when we use these words? Asking these questions and many more, this book explores the conditions of possibility for the ethnographic gesture and how those possibilities can shed light on the relationship between humans and the world in which they are found. As Joao de Pina-Cabral shows, important changes have occurred over the past decades concerning the way in which we relate the way we think to the way we are as a humanity embodied. Exploring new confrontations with a new conceptualization of the human condition, Cabral sketches a new anthropology, one that contributes to an ongoing separation from the socio-centric and representationalist constraints that have plagued the social sciences over the past century.

Why does the world need anthropology and anthropologists? This collection of essays written by prominent academic, practising and applied anthropologists aims to answer this provocative question. In an accessible and appealing style, each author in this volume inquires about the social value and practical application of the discipline of anthropology. Contributors note that the problems the world faces at a global scale are both new and old, unique and universal, and that solving them requires the use of long-proven tools as well as innovative approaches. They highlight that using anthropology in relevant ways outside academia contributes to the development of a new paradigm in anthropology, one where the ability to collaborate across disciplinary and professional boundaries becomes both central and legitimate. Contributors provide specific suggestions to anthropologists and the public at large on practical ways to use anthropology to change the world for the better. This one-of-a-kind volume will be of interest to fledgling and established anthropologists, social scientists and the general public.

Diana E. Forsythe was a leading anthropologist of science, technology, and work who pioneered the field of the anthropology of artificial intelligence. This volume collects her best-known essays, along with other major works that remained unpublished upon her death in 1997. It is also an exemplar of how reflexive ethnography should be done.

How can anthropology students prepare themselves to become practitioners? This book is designed to help students prepare for a career in putting anthropology to work in the world. The book: - Provides an introduction to the discipline of anthropology and its contribution to the world; - Outlines the shape of anthropological practice today; - Describes how students can prepare for a career in practice; - Sets out a framework for career planning; - Reviews challenges arising in the course of a practitioner career; - Includes short contributions from practitioners on aspects of training, practice, and career planning.

A dozen papers reflect the newer perspective of studying historical patterns, wider regions, and global networks beyond traditional anthropological fieldwork. New wave scholars reflect on their field and desk experiences and may let the field come to them; e.g., an ethnomusicologist studies the fieldwork of others and observes non- Western performances in a British museum. Includes bandw photos of authors' studies and a substantial bibliography. The editors and contributors are from the U. of Oxford, where the social and cultural anthropology department held a 1997 seminar on the teaching of methods on which this volume is based. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

Ten cultures! Barbara Gallatin Anderson brings to life a range of cultures from the tribal Hmong to a United States military base. With humor and a precision born of hands-on familiarity with the regions involved, she draws the reader into startlingly real identification with other peoples worlds: France, Denmark, Thailand, India, Morocco, Japan, Corsica, China, Russia, and the United States. Every chapter gives us insight into the ways we identify with basic anthropological themes, the challenges of applied fieldwork, and the impact of change. To a surprising extent the reader becomes the anthropologistwith all the highs and lows that are part of life as a cultural anthropologist.