An account of the life and ideas of Mary Douglas, the British social anthropologist whose publications span the second half of the 20th century. Richard Fardon covers Douglas's family background, education and early research before providing an analysis of two of her most influential works; Purity and Danger (1966) and Natural Symbols (1970). The final section deals with Douglas's more controversial writings in the fields of economics, consumption, religion and risk analysis in contemporary societies. Throughout, he assesses Douglas's place in the history of British social anthropology and...

An account of the life and ideas of Mary Douglas, the British social anthropologist whose publications span the second half of the 20th century. Richard Fardon covers Douglas's family background, education and early research before providing an analysis of two of her most influential works; Purity and Danger (1966) and Natural Symbols (1970). The final section deals with Douglas's more controversial writings in the fields of economics, consumption, religion and risk analysis in contemporary societies. Throughout, he assesses Douglas's place in the history of British social anthropology and...

This shows that multilingusim does not pose for Africans the problems of communication that Europeans imagine and that the mismatch between policy statements and their pragmatic outcomes is a far more serious problem for future development

Globalization is often described as the spread of western culture to other parts of the world. How accurate is the depiction of 'cultural flow'? In Counterworks, ten anthropologists examine the ways in which global processes have affected particular localities where they have carried out research. They challenge the validity of anthropological concepts of culture in the light of the pervasive connections which exist between local and global factors everywhere.
Rather than assuming that the world is culturally diverse, this book proposes that culture is itself a representation of...

Globalization is often described as the spread of western culture to other parts of the world. How accurate is the depiction of 'cultural flow'? In Counterworks, ten anthropologists examine the ways in which global processes have affected particular localities where they have carried out research. They challenge the validity of anthropological concepts of culture in the light of the pervasive connections which exist between local and global factors everywhere.
Rather than assuming that the world is culturally diverse, this book proposes that culture is itself a representation of...

Radio has played a pivotal role in situations of conflict, crisis, change and development on the African continent. Local radio stations are as important as international broadcasters being both the barometers and agents of change. North America: Praeger

'This book is about a story (Ousmane Sembene's Xala), about a time (the aftermath of Senegalese Independence), and about a place (Dakar, the capital of Senegal). It's also about the collaboration between an artist and an anthropologist, who have reacted in their different mediums to the story, time and place, and to what the other made of them ....'
So opens a unique account in a genre of its own devising that will engage readers interested in Sembene Ousmane as writer and film director, in Senegal, in African film, in West Africa, or in books designed to be desirable objects in their own...