Against the Grain The Vayda Tradition in Human Ecology and Ecological Anthropology

by Walters, Bradley B.; McCay, Bonnie J.; West, Paige; Lees, Susan; Bart, David J.; Pierce Colfer, Carol J.; Dove, Michael; Driscoll, Catherine; Eghenter, Cristina; Haaland, Gunnar; Kuznar, Lawrence A.; Long, Kenneth J.; Maxwell, Keely; McGuire, Thomas R.; N

• ISBN13: 9780759111721
• ISBN10: 0759111723
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-01-17
• Publisher: AltaMira Press

Summary

Against the Grain gathers scholars from across disciplines to critically explore the work of ecological anthropologist Andrew P. Vayda and the future of the field of human ecology. The subject matter spans topics such as warfare, indigenous knowledge, and research methodology, each examined in search of a productive and ethically responsible tradition of human ecological research.

Author Biography

Bradley B. Walters is associate professor of geography and environment at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick Bonnie J. McCay is Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor at Rutgers in the Department of Human Ecology Paige West is assistant professor of anthropology at Barnard College, New York Susan Lees is professor emerita of anthropology at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Introductory Essays
An Intellectual History of Ecological Anthropology	p. 11
Maori Warfare: Prefiguring Contemporary Directions in Ecological Science	p. 27
Events, Causes, and Explanations
Explaining Causes in Evolving Contexts: From Nepali Hill Farmers to Business Managers in Thailand	p. 43
Events, Politics, and Environmental Change	p. 67
Orthodoxy and Revision in West African Guinea Savanna Ecology	p. 81
Looking for Cause with All the Small Changes: Using Event Ecology to Find Human Causes of Biological Invasions	p. 99
Shell Games on the Water Bottoms of Louisiana: Investigative Journalism and Anthropological Inquiry	p. 117
Process in an Eventful Environment	p. 135
A New Guinea Culture-Bound Syndrome Revisited: Vayda, Humility, and Monological Authority in Anthropology	p. 145
Deductive-nomological vs. Causal-mechanical Explanation: Relative Strengths and Weaknesses in Anthropological Explanation	p. 159
Vayda Blues: Explanation in Darwinian Ecological Anthropology	p. 175
Research on Environment and Development
What Kind of Anthropology for Successful Conservation Management and Development?	p. 195
Environmental Conservation and Social Life in Papua New Guinea	p. 207
The Concept of Human Agency in Contemporary Conservation and Development	p. 225
Using Progressive Contextualization to Understand a Rural Development Success Story in Indonesian Borneo	p. 255
From Understanding to Action: Building on Anthropological Approaches to Influence Policy Making	p. 273
The Relevant Context: Environmental Consequences of Images of the Future	p. 287
Indigenous Knowledge and In Situ Crop Germplasm Conservation	p. 307
Concluding Essay
Causal Explanation as a Research Goal: A Pragmatic View	p. 317
Index	p. 369
About the Contributors	p. 375
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