I could imagine assigning individual chapters of the text, so I would rate the modularity as good. Living Conditions in Haitis Capital Improve, but Rural Communities Remain Very Poor, World Bank, July 11, 2014. http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/07/11/while-living-conditions-in-port-au-prince-are-improving-haiti-countryside-remains-very-poor. We see the interconnectedness of cultural practices and, in all of the chapters, we emphasize the comparison of cultures and the ways of life of different peoples. This focus on power and structural relations parallels an anthropological understanding of culture as a holistic system: economic relations never exist by themselves, apart from social and political institutions. It has A key strength of this source is its comprehensive coverage of the key concepts found in Cultural Anthropology. Globalization II. The chapters are written in a sophisticated way and cover a wide variety of topics. In this family production system, the men generally clear the fields and the whole family works together to plant the seeds. Balanced reciprocity: the exchange of something with the expectation that something of equal value will be returned within a specific time period. I appreciate that the introductory chapter brings forward many of the original thinkers and practitioners of Anthropology right in the very beginning. Additionally, songs, customs, and cultural influences also traveled along the Kula route. TLDR. When items in any of the three spheres could be exchanged for general purpose money, the Tiv could no longer maintain separate categories of exchangeable items. Money in Twentieth Century Anthropology. In A Handbook of Economic Anthropology, edited by James Carrier. In the domestic and tributary modes of production, workers also retain control over the goods they produce (or a portion of them), and they control their own labor, deciding when and when not to work. In what ways might your consumption choices be connected to global economic inequality? The Culture Concept 3. Karen Hansen provides an in-depth look at the lives of vendors in the salaula, the secondhand clothing markets in Zambia in southern Africa. My only quibble is that I hope in future iterations the authors will include more interviews with practitioners (as they did in section on "why anthropology is important" pp. Jonathan Kirshner and Jon Lewis, editors . See comment above. Mauss, Marcel. Overall the content is quite comprehensive. Terms are explained well in the text and also defined in a glossary at the end of each chapter. [48] For example, consumption helps us establish and defend differences among people and occasions: I might wear a specific t-shirt and cap to a baseball game with friends in order to distinguish myself as a fan of a particular team. Media Anthropology: Meaning, Embodiment, Infrastructure, and Activism, 18. Because so little of this aid reached the people on the ground who needed it most, seven months following the disaster 40 percent of the IDP camps did not have access to water, and 30 percent did not have toilets of any kind. kmno4 + naoh balanced equation best anthropology books. Chapter one does introduce the four fields, but the presentation is limited. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1968. Consumers in capitalist systems continuously attempt to reshape the meaning of the commodities that businesses brand, package, and market to us. A key distinction between the two is that market exchanges are regulated by supply and demand mechanisms. It is also a current topic of anthropological concern and relevance. Of course in future iterations the authors can easily update these links. The capitalist mode of production is the most recent. The first two sections have better organization in my opinion, especially the first section. There are options for pdf format or for print format. 2. The arm bands and necklaces constantly circulate and only have symbolic value, meaning they bring the temporary owner honor and prestige but cannot be bought or sold for money. From the outset you have clearly stated learning objectives. Today, many follow in this tradition and some would agree with Keith Harts statement that economic anthropology at its best has always been a search for an alternative to capitalism.[18] Mauss, a French anthropologist, was one of the first scholars to provide an in-depth exploration of reciprocity and the role that gifts play in cultural systems around the world. J. K. Gibson-Graham, Jenny Cameron, and Stephen Healy argue that in the process of recognizing and negotiating this interdependence, we become a community. Consumption is always social even when it addresses physical needs. [68] Haiti suffers from widespread unemployment and underemployment, and more than two-thirds of people in the labor force do not have formal jobs. Besides, for every theme the students will find excellent material in the form of photography as well as links to websites with scholarly and other sources where both students and instructors would be able to expand or go deeper into a subject. Redistribution requires centralized social organization, even if at a small scale (for example, within the foraging societies discussed above). Successful salaula trading requires business acumen and practical skills. The currency has been in circulation since 1991, and the system was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1998. [24] How and why has this one date in the liturgical calendar come to be so central to U.S. culture and what does gift giving have to do with it? The chapters are written in a sophisticated way and cover a wide variety of topics. read more. Well placed images further expand on concepts discussed. Doing Fieldwork: Methods in Cultural Anthropology, 7. Media Anthropology: Meaning, Embodiment, Infrastructure, and Activism, 18. When we view Christmas through a moral economy lens, we come to understand how our economic behavior is shaped by our historical customs, cultural values, beliefs, and even our need to maintain appearances. Within The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS), in social science books, the endnotes are used to present an idea/observation that would distract the reader if included in the text; or the place where the author wishes to guide the reader to other important works. In the fall, after the tourists have left, catch volume increases again as a new class of recently molted lobsters become available to the fishermen. Why are the economic activities of people like the fair trade coffee farmers described in this chapter challenging to characterize? The terminology in each chapter, however, is kept consistent with the basic premise of analyzing each aspect of culture holistically. A close examination of these farmers lives reveals that they are not relics of a precapitalist system. Carrier, James. I enjoy reading the perspective from different authors! The third mode, capitalism, is the one most familiar to us. Hart, Keith. J. K. Gibson-Graham, Jenny Cameron, and Stephen Healy, For more information, see http://ithacahours.info/, Faidra Papavasiliou, Fair Money, Fair Trade: Tracing Alternative Consumption in a Local Currency Economy., Rudi Colloredo-Mansfeld, Consumption: From Cultural Theory to the Ethnography of Capitalism, in, Colloredo-Mansfeld, Consumption: From Cultural Theory to the Ethnography of Capitalism.. Just as our college student may come to think of the requirements she has to fulfill for her degree as just the way it is (even if she does not want to take that theory course! First, though, we will take a closer look at each of the three modes of production. read more. Also, the consistency in the layout and organization makes this a very accessible text to read and navigate. (December 20, 2019), Language This textbook is a collection of chapters on the essential topics in cultural anthropology. Consider discussing that the cover is a story that may be told in many ways. On the PDF version, other than lacking a table of content and a global glossary, the book is flawless in its typesetting, layout, and overall organizational structure. [76] The relief money funneled through these organizations ended up supporting a new elite class rather than the impoverished multitudes that so desperately need the assistance. However, what makes this text interesting is how the editors made sure the structure of the chapters remained consistent regardless of the disciplinary approach. The aim of this short overview is to look at theoretic and methodical aspects in analysing culture as the result of aspirations for wellbeing. Consumption: the process of buying, eating, or using a resource, food, commodity, or service. [12] Consequently, the informal economy is of great interest to economic anthropologists. I do not keep a close tally of which kid received which candy bar, nor do my young daughters pay close attention to which houses gave more or less desirable candy this year. This approach recognizes that the economy is central to everyday life but contextualizes economic relations within state structures, political processes, social structures, and cultural values. These appointments may last an hour or even longer, and he and his stylist probably chat about each others lives, the weather, or politics. I have looked at a number of anthro textbooks (open source and not) and this is by far the best one I have encountered. The list of chapters and content should align well with any syllabus for a typical introductory cultural anthropology class. While we may take our general purpose currency for granted, as the Tiv example demonstrates, money is profoundly symbolic and political. The text can be easily divided into smaller sections that could be rearranged by an instructor based on individual curriculum. The transactors are embedded in networks of social relations and might even have knowledge of the others personality, family, or personal circumstances that helps them trust that the exchange will be satisfactory. Thinking about your own daily economic activities, how is your lifestyle dependent on people in other places? Want to create or adapt books like this? It covers quite a lot of ground in terms of different cultures, social structures, etc. The text does a good job of introducing the field of cultural anthropology, though not the four-fields of anthropology. Anthropologists have identified forms of structural inequality in countless places around the world. Very few times I have come across a more comprehensive textbook. Only 20 percent of the camps had education, health care, or mental health facilities on-site. Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2021. When anthropological research is presented in an accessible and easily understood form, it can effectively encourage meaningful public conversations about questions such as how to best disperse relief aid after natural disasters. Even when we pay more for Darjeeling tea, the premium price is not always returned to the workers in the form of higher wages. Unlike balanced and generalized reciprocity, negative reciprocity is an attempt to get something for nothing. His commitment to a public anthropology that seeks to address the central issues of our time while engaging broad audiences was a central inspiration for our work. Each chapter starts with a set of learning objectives followed by clear subject headings throughout the text making the material very easy to follow. The language and tone of the text is academic without overuse of technical jargon. Presentation Slides by James Sera. There is also some presentation of cultural groups as homogeneous, unvaried communities. One example is the concept of intersex that is introduced in Ch. Doing Fieldwork: Methods in Cultural Anthropology, 7. The Kula ring exhibits all the hallmarks of balanced reciprocity: necklaces are traded for armbands with the expectation that objects of equal value will be returned within a specific time period. In that sense social groups base their identity on imagined common roots and descent. Chuck Ellenbaum, College of DuPage We know that there is some overlap in the chapters. 13) and Robert Borofsky (Ch. [32] Even if I did not receive a cash refund from the IRS, I still benefited from the redistribution in the form of federal services and infrastructure. As discussed in the Marriage and Family chapter, kinship relations are determined by culture, not biology. Moreover, pictures like a diverse group working at Starbucks in the discussion on coffee commodity chain in the chapter, Subsistence and of a Trump impersonator at a pro-Trump Rally in the discussion on how transnational identities and religion impact perceptions of American politics in the chapter, Religion make the cultural content more inclusive and relatable. For example, bourbon must come from Kentucky, Mezcal can only be produced in certain parts of Mexico, and sparkling wine can only be called champagne if it originated in France. The domestic, or kin-ordered, mode of production characterizes the lives of foragers and small-scale subsistence farmers with social structures that are more egalitarian than those characterizing the other modes of production (though these structures are still shaped by age- and gender-based forms of inequality). The order of the topics follows a logical progression, from the simple to the complex, that allows a proper introduction to anthropologys key ideas. [30] He found that 419 scams, as they are known in Nigeria (after the section of the criminal code outlawing fraud), emerged in the largest African state (Nigeria has more than 130 million residents, nearly 70 percent of whom live below the poverty line) in the late 1990s when there were few legitimate economic opportunities for the large number of educated young people who had the English skills and technological expertise necessary for successful scams. While some repetition in terms and glossary are a good way to reinforce concepts, there is a little bit of disjointedness from having multiple authors cover some of the same topics within the text that makes it less reinforcement and more overly repetitious. It reflects our ideas about the generalized interchangeability of all thingsit makes products and services from all over the world commensurable in terms of a single metric. Ten Facts about Hunger in Haiti, https://www.wfp.org/stories/10-facts-about-hunger-haiti. There are 19 chapters, so it covers a lot of content that you are free to assign as you see necessary for your class's content, and each chapter can be downloaded or read online (and a link can be given for each chapter you assign). The text and each chapter is very well organized and extremely consistent in its layout. It is not often that a current generation has the ability to see something like this taking shape before their very eyes but perhaps restructuring the format a bit would be helpful. The tributary mode of production is found in social systems divided into classes of rulers and subjects. Homo economicus: a term used to describe a person who would make rational decisions in ways predicted by economic theories. The capitalist mode of production has three central features: (1) private property is owned by members of the capitalist class; (2) workers sell their labor power to the capitalists in order to survive; and (3) surpluses of wealth are produced, and these surpluses are either kept as profit or reinvested in production in order to generate further surplus. PERSPECTIVES: AN OPEN INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY Nina Brown, Thomas McIlwraith, Laura Tubelle de Gonzlez 2020 American Anthropological Association 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 1301 Arlington, VA 22201 ISBN Print: 978-1-931303-67-5 ISBN Digital: 978-1-931303-66-8 This book is a project of the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges (SACC) and our parent organization, the . Finally, consumption refers to how we use these material goods: for example, by eating food or constructing homes out of bricks. It provides a foundation of early/classic anthropological readings for any student so inclined to delve a bit deeper than the textbook. What are some other examples of products that people purchase and modify as a form of personal expression or social commentary? - Beadling - 2022 - The Journal of American Culture - Wiley Online Library The Journal of American Culture Book Review When the Movies Mattered: The New Hollywood Revisited. Humans are born with the capacity to learn the culture of any social group. This text is an edited volume of chapters written by different authors. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Anthropology is a discipline with a multiplicity of approaches, theoretical and otherwise. In other cultures, generalized reciprocity is the norm rather than the exception. at the end. SECOND EDITION. By and large, the language used by the authors is clear and they provide explanations and illustrations to make their point(s) clear. How many of us give and receive gifts during the holiday season? The chapters layout on, Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology, indeed reproduces what you will expected in a printed version. When the earthquake struck, Haitis economy already revolved around international aid and foreign remittances sent by migrants (which represented approximately 25 percent of the gross domestic product). The world responded with one of its most generous outpourings of aid in recent history. However, most savvy recipients immediately recognize that these scams are in fact a form of negative reciprocity since they know they will never actually receive the promised money and, in fact, will probably lose money if they give their bank account information to their correspondent. Further, SACCers have an interest in progressive social values and believe in the power of education in anthropology to improve the living conditions and situations of people abroad and at home. Once known as peasants, these people pose an interesting conundrum to economic anthropologists because they live their lives both inside and outside of global capitalism and state societies. We hope you will use this textbook with your students, either as a stand-alone text or in conjunction with other textual and digital materials. Photos, occasional diagrams, links to external content, and mini-bios of the author are used to enhance the presentation of the material. I even assign parts of certain chapters--it has worked so well. At Christmas he may even bring a small gift or give an extra tip. The text does a good job of introducing the field of cultural anthropology, though not the four-fields of anthropology. Different from other introductory textbooks, this book is an edited volume with each chapter written by a different author.
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