History and Theory in Anthropology
History and Theory in Anthropology
Anthropology is a discipline very conscious of its history, and Alan Barnard has written a clear, balanced and judicious textbook that surveys the historical contexts of the great debates and traces the genealogies of theories and schools of thought. It also considers the problems involved in assessing these theories. The book covers the precursors of anthropology; evolutionism in all its guises; diffusionism and culture area theories, functionalism and structural-functionalism; action-centred theories; processual and Marxist perspectives; the many faces of relativism, structuralism and post-structuralism; and recent interpretive and postmodernist viewpoints.
- Challenging and insightful, both for students and for professionals in anthropology and related disciplines
- Wide coverage, both historical and contemporary, and extensive glossary
- Up to date with alternative theoretical perspectives and interesting work with older perspectives
Reviews & endorsements
'… valuable key reading for first year anthropology undergraduates …' Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
'… Barnard had succeeded to survey a vast field of scholarship. It provides very interesting and agreeable reading.' Anthorpos
Product details
June 2000Paperback
9780521774321
256 pages
228 × 153 × 21 mm
0.42kg
10 tables
Temporarily unavailable - available from TBC
Table of Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- 1. Visions of anthropology
- 2. Precursors of the anthropological tradition
- 3. Changing perspectives on evolution
- 4. Diffusionist and culture-area theories
- 5. Functionalism and structural-functionalism
- 6. Action-centred, processual and Marxist perspectives
- 7. From relativism to cognitive science
- 8. Structuralism, from linguistics to anthropology
- 9. Poststructuralists, feminists and (other) mavericks
- 10. Interpretive and postmodernist approaches
- 11. Conclusions
- Appendix 1: dates of birth and death of individuals mentioned in the text
- Appendix 2: glossary
- References
- Index.
