Small Places, Large Issues - Second Edition: An Introduction to Social and Cultural AnthropologyRanging from the Pacific islands to the Arctic north and from small villages to modern nation states, this concise introduction to social and cultural anthropology reveals the rich global variation in social life and culture. The text also provides a clear overview of anthropology, focusing on central topics such as kinship, ethnicity, ritual and political systems, offering a wealth of examples that demonstrate the enormous scope of anthropology and the importance of a comparative perspective. Unlike previous texts on the subject, Small Places, Large Issues broadens the study to incorporate the anthropology of complex modern societies, thus providing a unique key text for all students of social and cultural anthropology. Using reviews of key monographs to illustrate his argument, Eriksen's lucid and accessible text remains an established introductory text in anthropology. This new edition is updated throughout and includes a new chapter on the history of anthropology. It also shows clearly and comprehensively, through numerous new examples, why classic studies of small-scale societies are relevant for the study of complex phenomena such as nationalism, consumption and the Internet. In this way, the book bridges an often perceived gap between "classic" and "contemporary" anthropology. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 84
Page 108
... Seen from a male point of view , women are a scarce resource . No matter how male - dominated a society is , men need women to ensure its survival . In matrilineal systems , the men's sisters do this ; in patrilineal societies , their ...
... Seen from a male point of view , women are a scarce resource . No matter how male - dominated a society is , men need women to ensure its survival . In matrilineal systems , the men's sisters do this ; in patrilineal societies , their ...
Page 195
... seen as a function of the amount of energy harnessed by a society from its surroundings ( White 1949 ) . Although this view must be seen as a deterministic one , White at the same time regarded culture as an autonomous realm ( an often ...
... seen as a function of the amount of energy harnessed by a society from its surroundings ( White 1949 ) . Although this view must be seen as a deterministic one , White at the same time regarded culture as an autonomous realm ( an often ...
Page 265
... seen as an anomaly within the Linnean system of classification when it was discovered in the nineteenth century : it was an egg - laying mammal with a duck's beak . Anomalies occur in social classification as well . An anomaly in an ...
... seen as an anomaly within the Linnean system of classification when it was discovered in the nineteenth century : it was an egg - laying mammal with a duck's beak . Anomalies occur in social classification as well . An anomaly in an ...
Contents
Comparison and Context | 1 |
A Brief History of Anthropology | 9 |
Fieldwork and its Interpretation | 24 |
Copyright | |
19 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
actors African analysis anthro argues aspects Azande become biological capitalist caste Chapter clan classification complex concept conflict context create cultural relativism cultural variation defined described developed distinction division of labour Dogon E.E. Evans-Pritchard economic emphasises ethnic groups ethnographic European Evans-Pritchard example exchange exist fieldwork Fredrik Barth Fulani function Geertz gender global gumsa Hindu household human identity ideology important Indian individual institutions integrated Kachin Kaguru kin group kind kinship knowledge language Lévi-Strauss lineage live Malinowski marriage Mauss Mbuti means Merina migration modern societies nationalism nature nevertheless Ningerum norms Nuer one's patrilineal persons perspective political population principle problems production regarded relationship relatives religion rites ritual role Sahlins seen sense social and cultural social anthropology social organisation social system statuses structural-functionalism structure symbolic theory traditional Trobriand Trobriand Islands universal village wagework witchcraft women Yanomamö