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A History of Anthropological Theory, Fifth Edition

Paul A. Erickson and Liam D. Murphy

© 2016

The fifth edition of this bestselling theory text has been revised throughout, with substantial updates, including more on gender and sexuality, and with a new section on Anthropologies of the Digital Age. Keyword definitions have been reinstated in the margins, and biographical information on theorists has been enhanced to build stronger context for readers. On its own or used with the companion volume, Readings for a History of Anthropological Theory, this text provides comprehensive coverage in a flexible and easy-to-use format for teaching in the undergraduate anthropology classroom.

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Product Details

  • World Rights
  • Page Count: 304 pages
  • Dimensions: 8.0in x 0.5in x 10.0in
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SKU# HE000712

  • PUBLISHED OCT 2016
    From: $48.95
    ISBN 9781442636835
  • PUBLISHED OCT 2016
    From: $39.95
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Quick Overview

On its own or used with the companion volume, Readings for a History of Anthropological Theory, this text provides comprehensive coverage in a flexible and easy-to-use format for teaching in the undergraduate anthropology classroom.

A History of Anthropological Theory, Fifth Edition

Paul A. Erickson and Liam D. Murphy

© 2016

The fifth edition of this bestselling theory text has been revised throughout, with substantial updates, including more on gender and sexuality, and with a new section on Anthropologies of the Digital Age. Keyword definitions have been reinstated in the margins, and biographical information on theorists has been enhanced to build stronger context for readers. On its own or used with the companion volume, Readings for a History of Anthropological Theory, this text provides comprehensive coverage in a flexible and easy-to-use format for teaching in the undergraduate anthropology classroom.

Continue Reading Read Less

Product Details

  • World Rights
  • Page Count: 304 pages
  • Dimensions: 8.0in x 0.5in x 10.0in

  • Reviews

    Erickson and Murphy present a chronological and comprehensive history of anthropology theory that artfully explains the social and political contexts of key anthropological thinkers. By attending to the unique contributions of the subfields of anthropology as well as the unifying canon, this text provides a straightforward and sophisticated review of theory that resonates with teachers and students of anthropology. The new edition extends the work of earlier editions, making it the strongest theory text available.


    Jennifer Wies, Eastern Kentucky University

    I am impressed with the quality of materials in this text. Providing provocative, reflective questions for each historical period and a wide-ranging, up-to-date list of supplementary readings, it is an excellent tool for classroom engagement, and invites students to dig more deeply into the material.


    Marjorie Snipes, University of West Georgia

  • Author Information

    Paul A. Erickson is Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at St. Mary's University in Halifax.


    Liam D. Murphy is a Professor in the Anthropology Department at California State University, Sacramento.

  • Table of contents

    List of Figures

    Preface

    Timeline

    Introduction

    Part One: The Early History of Anthropological Theory

    Anthropology in Antiquity
    The Middle Ages
    The Renaissance
    Voyages of Geographical Discovery
    The Scientific Revolution
    The Enlightenment
    The Rise of Positivism
    Marxism
    Classical Cultural Evolutionism
    Evolutionism versus Diffusionism
    Archaeology Comes of Age
    Charles Darwin and Darwinism
    Sigmund Freud
    Émile Durkheim
    Max Weber
    Ferdinand de Saussure

    Part Two: The Earlier Twentieth Century

    American Cultural Anthropology
    Franz Boas
    Robert Lowie and Alfred Louis Kroeber
    Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict
    The Development of Psychological Anthropology
    French Structural Anthropology
    Marcel Mauss
    Claude Lévi-Strauss
    Edmund Leach and Mary Douglas
    Latter-Day Structuralists
    Structural Marxists
    Marshall Sahlins
    The Legacy of French Structural Anthropology
    British Social Anthropology
    A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
    Bronislaw Malinowski
    E.E. Evans-Pritchard
    Max Gluckman and the “Manchester School”
    The Legacy of British Social Anthropology

    Part Three: The Later Twentieth Century

    Cognitive Anthropology
    Edward Sapir
    Ethnoscience and the “New Ethnography”
    Cultural Neo-evolutionism
    Leslie White
    Julian Steward
    Marshall Sahlins and Elman Service
    The New Archaeology
    Cultural Materialism
    Marvin Harris
    Nature versus Nurture
    Biology of Behaviour
    The New Physical Anthropology
    Ethology and Behavioural Genetics
    Sociobiology
    Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropology
    Victor Turner and Symbolic Anthropology
    Clifford Geertz and Interpretive Anthropology
    Post-processual Archaeology
    The Influence of Symbolic and Interpretive Approaches
    Transactionalism
    Fredrik Barth
    Anthropology and Gender
    Feminism and Its Effects
    Culture and Sexualities
    Political Economy
    Marx and the World System
    Sins of the Fathers
    Ideology, Culture, and Power
    Postcolonialism
    Postmodernity
    Paul Feyerabend
    Michel Foucault
    Pierre Bourdieu
    Anthropology as Text
    Medical Anthropology

    Part Four: The Early Twenty-First Century

    Globalization
    Public Anthropology
    World Traditions in Anthropology
    The English Language and Anglo-American Hegemony
    “Other” Anthropologies
    Anthropologies of the Digital Age

    Conclusion

    Forgetting the Past
    Agreeing to Disagree
    “-isms” in Schism
    History of the Future
    Beyond “One Dead Guy a Week”

    Study Questions

    Glossary

    Sources and Suggested Reading

    Index

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