Small Places, Large Issues An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology, Third Edition

by Eriksen, Thomas Hylland

• ISBN13: 9780745330501
• ISBN10: 0745330509
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-06-15
• Publisher: Pluto Press

Summary

This concise introduction to social and cultural anthropology has become a modern classic, revealing the rich global variation in social life and culture. The text 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 other texts on the subject, Small Places, Large Issues incorporates the anthropology of complex modern societies. 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 increases the emphasis on the interdependence of human worlds. There is a new discussion of the new influence cultural studies and natural science on anthropology. Effortless bridging the perceived gap between "classic" and "contemporary" anthropology, Small Places, Large Issues is as essential to anthropology undergraduates as ever.

Author Biography

Thomas Hylland Eriksen is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oslo. He is the author of nearly thirty books, including Ethnicity and Nationalism (Pluto Press, Third Edition 2010), A History of Anthropology (Pluto Press, 2001), What is Anthropology? (Pluto Press, 2004), Tyranny of the Moment (Pluto Press, 2001) and Globalisation (Pluto Press, 2003), and co-editor of A World of Insecurity (Pluto Press, 2010).

Table of Contents

Series Preface	p. vii
Preface to the Third Edition	p. viii
Anthropology: Comparison and Context	p. 1
A Brief History of Anthropology	p. 10
Fieldwork and Ethnography	p. 27
The Social Person	p. 44
Local Organisation	p. 62
Person and Society	p. 79
Kinship as Descent	p. 100
Marriage and Relatedness	p. 116
Gender and Age	p. 132
Caste and Class	p. 150
Politics and Power	p. 165
Exchange and Consumption	p. 184
Production, Nature and Technology	p. 203
Religion and Ritual	p. 220
Language and Cognition	p. 239
Complexity and Change	p. 257
Ethnicity	p. 275
Nationalism and Minorities	p. 289
Anthropology and the Paradoxes of Globalisation	p. 307
Epilogue: Making Anthropology Matter	p. 327
Bibliography	p. 330
Index	p. 351
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