The Cambridge Companion to Lévi-Strauss
The Cambridge Companion to Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss is one of the major thinkers of the modern age. Regarded as a crucial figure in the development of structuralism, his writings are studied across a wide range of disciplines, including anthropology, philosophy and literary studies. The Cambridge Companion to Lévi-Strauss presents a major reassessment of his work and influence. The fifteen specially-commissioned essays in this volume engage with the controversies that have surrounded his ideas, and they probe the concealed influences and clichés that have obscured a true understanding of his work. The contributors are experts drawn from a number of fields, demonstrating the durability and importance of Lévi-Strauss's work in the academy. Written for students and researchers alike, these incisive, jargon-free essays will be essential reading for anybody who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of this important thinker.
- Includes close textual readings that highlight Lévi-Strauss's relationship to key Western figures, such as Freud, Kant and Rousseau
- Interdisciplinary approach reveals Lévi-Strauss' continuing relevance not only for anthropology but also aesthetics, philosophy and political thought
- Solid pedagogical features, including an extensive bibliography and jargon free style to support student learning
Reviews & endorsements
"Fifteen highly readable essays... provide a thorough examination of the major controversies and influences associated with Lévi-Strauss's work and its continuing value and applications to contemporary social research.... Most useful for college and university libraries supporting degree programs in anthropology, sociology, history, and philosophy.... Highly recommended." - Choice
Product details
May 2009Paperback
9780521608671
350 pages
228 × 150 × 17 mm
0.56kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction Boris Wiseman
- Part I. Society and Culture:
- 1. Lévi-Strauss and the question of humanism Denis Kambouchner
- 2. Lévi-Strauss and history Michael E. Harkin
- 3. Structure and exchange Abraham Rosman and Paula G. Rubel
- 4. The future of the structural theory of kinship Marcela Coelho de Souza
- Part II. Myth and Mind:
- 5. The two natures of Lévi-Strauss Philippe Descola
- 6. On anthropological knowledge Claude Imbert
- 7. The limits of classification: Claude Lévi-Strauss and Mary Douglas Frédéric Keck
- 8. The local and the universal Eric Schwimmer
- 9. Lévi-Strauss and the question of symbolism Marcel Hénaff
- 10. Claude Lévi-Strauss's theoretical and actual approaches to myth Wendy Doniger
- Part III. Language and Alterity:
- 11. Of The Story of Lynx: Lévi-Strauss and alterity Peter Gow
- 12. Before Babel: language and languages in Lévi-Strauss Christopher Johnson
- Part IV. Literature and Aesthetics:
- 13. Structuralism, poetry, music: Lévi-Strauss between Mallarmé and Wagner Jeffrey Mehlman
- 14. Morphology and structural aesthetics: from Goethe to Lévi-Strauss Jean Petitot
- 15. Structure and sensation Boris Wiseman.
