African Voices, African Lives explores the world of 'Mohammed', a swahili peasant living on Mafia Island, Tanzania. Through his own words - some written, some spoken - and those of his relatives, including his ex-wife and one of his daughters, he enables us to see the world through his eyes, including the invisisble world of spirits which plays a significant role in his life. This information is gathered by Pat Caplan, the anthropologist, over almost three decades of talking and writing to each other. She acts not only as translator and editor, but also as interpreter, bringing in...

This work explores the world of Mohammed, a Swahili peasant living on Mafia Island, Tanzania. Through his own words - some written, some spoken - and those of his relatives, including his ex-wife and one of his daughters, he enables us to see the world through his eyes, including the invisible world of spirits which plays a significant role in his life. This information is gathered by Pat Caplan over almost three decades of talking and writing to each other. She acts not only as translator and editor, but also as interpreter, bringing in her own knowledge gathered from field data as well as...

By addressing the issue of food and eating in Britain today, this book considers the way in which our food habits are changing, and shows how social and personal identities and perceptions of health and risk influence choices. It also looks at the increase of vegetarianism, and the relative ineffectiveness of official eating advice. The book should be useful to students of anthropology, cultural studies and health promotion as well as to those scientists and policymakers who are concerned with food. The introduction seeks to indicate how social scientists can help us understand why people eat...

This study deals with three domains of food which raise complex epistemological, political and moral issues. Through an examination of a wide range of material drawn from anthropology, history, literature and political economy, the author discusses the relationship between food and entitlement, gender, notions of the body and development. Food is shown to be a powerful metaphor for our sense of self, our social and political relations, our cosmology and our global system.