Full Description
American anthropology in the late twentieth century interrogated and depicted the worlds of others, past and present, in subtle and incisive ways while increasingly questioning its own authority to do so. Marxist, symbolic, and structuralist thought shaped the fieldwork and conclusions of many researchers around the globe. Practicing anthropology blossomed and grew rapidly as a subdiscipline in its own right. There emerged a keener appreciation of both the history of the discipline and the histories of those studied. Archaeologists witnessed a resurgence of interest in the concept of culture. The American Anthropologist also made systematic efforts to represent the field as a whole, with biological anthropology and linguistics particularly adept at crossing subdiscipline boundaries. Proliferation of specialized areas within sociocultural anthropology encouraged work across the subdisciplines. The thirty selections in this volume reflect the notable trends and accomplishments in American anthropology during the closing decades of the millennium. An introduction by Regna Darnell offers a historical background and critical context that enable readers to better understand the changes and continuity in American anthropology during this time.
Contents
Editor's Introduction Regna Darnell Ritual, Sanctity and Cybernetics Roy A. Rappaport Brazilian Racial Terms: Some Aspects of Meaning and Learning Roger Sanjek The Potlatch: A Structural Analysis Abraham Rosman and Paula G. Rubel Prejudice and Its Intellectual Effect in American Anthropology: An Ethnographic Report Francis L. K. Hsu On Key Symbols Sherry B. Ortner Sheep in Navajo Culture and Social Organization Gary Witherspoon Verbal Art as Performance Richard Bauman World Picture, Anthropological Frame Robert McC. Adams The Anthropologist as Expert Witness Lawrence Rosen Whatever Happened to the Id? Melford E. Spiro Linguistic Knowledge and Cultural Knowledge: Some Doubts and Speculations Roger M. Keesing Tibetan Fraternal Polyandry: A Test of Sociobiological Theory Cynthia M. Beall and Melvyn C. Goldstein The Golden Marshalltown: A Parable for the Archeology of the 1980s Kent V. Flannery Types Distinct from Our Own: Franz Boas on Jewish Identity and Assimilation Leonard B. Glick Other Times, Other Customs: The Anthropology of History Marshall Sahlins Anti Anti-Relativism Clifford Geertz Hominoid Evolution and Hominoid Origins David Pilbeam Culture as Consensus: A Theory of Culture and Informant Accuracy Kimball Romney, Susan C. Weller, and William H. Batchelder A Discourse-Centered Approach to Language and Culture Joel Sherzer Knowledge, Power, and the Individual in Subarctic Hunting Societies Robin Ridington Theories of Social Honor Elvin Hatch Kalapalo Biography: Psychology and Language in a South American Oral History Ellen B. Basso Facing Power--Old Insights, New Questions Eric R. Wolf Evolution of the Human Capacity for Beliefs Ward H. Goodenough Art, Science, or Politics? The Crisis in Hunter-Gatherer Studies Richard B. Lee Empowering Place: Multilocality and Multivocality Margaret C. Rodman Contested Pasts and the Practice of Anthropology Jonathan D. Hill "Our Ancestors the Gauls": Archaeology, Ethnic Nationalism, and the Manipulation of Celtic Identity in Modern Europe Michael Dietler How Native Is a "Native" Anthropologist? Kirin Narayan Archaeology, Anthropology, and the Culture Concept Patty Jo Watson
