The Power of the Between: An Anthropological Odyssey

by Stoller, Paul

• ISBN13: 9780226775357
• ISBN10: 0226775356
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-12-15
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

It is the anthropologist's fate to always be between things: countries, languages, cultures, even realities. But rather than lament this, anthropologist Paul Stoller here celebrates the creative power of the between, showing how it can transform us, changing our conceptions of who we are, what we know, and how we live in the world. Beginning with his early days with the Peace Corps in Africa and culminating with a recent bout with cancer,The Power of the Betweenis an evocative account of the circuitous path Stoller's life has taken, offering a fascinating depiction of how a career is shaped over decades of reading and research. Stoller imparts his accumulated wisdom not through grandiose pronouncements but by drawing on his gift for storytelling. Tales of his apprenticeship to a sorcerer in Niger, his studies with Claude Levi-Strauss in Paris, and his friendships with West African street vendors in New York City accompany philosophical reflections on love, memory, power, courage, health, and illness. Graced with Stoller's trademark humor and narrative elegance,The Power of the Betweenis both the story of a distinguished career and a profound meditation on coming to terms with the impermanence of all things.

Author Biography

Paul Stoller is professor of anthropology at West Chester University and the author of ten books, including Money Has No Smell, Jaguar, and In Sorcery’s Shadow.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Prologue: The Power of the Between	p. 1
Seeking Truth	p. 12
Alternative Truths	p. 19
Embodiments	p. 25
Knowledge	p. 36
Sorcery	p. 42
New York City	p. 52
Complexities	p. 61
Family	p. 68
Sensuousness	p. 74
Embodied Memories	p. 79
Wood	p. 89
New World Circuits	p. 95
Art	p. 98
Intersections	p. 104
Weaving the World	p. 116
Immunology and the Village of the Healthy	p. 120
Entering the Village of the Sick	p. 127
Sorcery in the World	p. 135
Remission	p. 145
Reconfiguration	p. 151
Ethnography	p. 154
Memoir	p. 160
Imagination	p. 165
Stories	p. 171
Epilogue: Flying on the Wings of the Wind	p. 174
Notes	p. 179
References	p. 191
Index	p. 199
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