“Ifyouwanttoknowwhatanthropologyis,lookatwhatanthropologistsdo,“writetheauthorsofSocialandCulturalAnthropology:AVeryShortIntroduction.Thisengagingoverviewofthefieldcombinesanaccessibleaccountofsomeofthediscipline’sguidingprinciplesandmethodologywithabundantexamplesandillustrationsofanthropologistsatwork.PeterJustandJohnMonaghanbeginbydiscussinganthropology’smostimportantcontributionstomodernthought:itsinvestigationofcultureasadistinctivelyhumancharacteristic,itsdoctrineofculturalrelativism,anditsmethodologyoffieldworkandethnography.DrawingonexamplesfromtheirownfieldworkinIndonesiaandMesoamerica,theyexaminespecificwaysinwhichsocialandculturalanthropologyhaveadvancedourunderstandingofhumansocietyandculture.Includinganassessmentofanthropology’spresentposition,andalookforwardtoitslikelyfuture,SocialandCulturalAnthropologywillmakefascinatingreadingforanyonecuriousaboutthissocialscience.AbouttheSeries:Combiningauthoritywithwit,accessibility,andstyle,VeryShortIntroductionsofferanintroductiontosomeoflife’smostinterestingtopics.Writtenbyexpertsforthenewcomer,theydemonstratethefinestcontemporarythinkingaboutthecentralproblemsandissuesinhundredsofkeytopics,fromphilosophytoFreud,quantumtheorytoIslam.
ANTHROPOLOGY SOCIAL ACCESSIBILITY SHORT CULTURAL
