Kategoria BISAC: Social Science >> Anthropology - General

The anthropology of art is currently at a crossroads. Although well versed in the meaning of art in small-scale tribal societies, anthropologists are still wrestling with the question of how to interpret art in a complex, post-colonial environment. Alfred Gell recently confronted this problem in his posthumous book Art and Agency. The central thesis of his study was that art objects could be seen, not as bearers of meaning or aesthetic value, but as forms mediating social action. At a stroke, Gell provocatively dismissed many longstanding but tired questions of definition and issues of...

Anthropologist Sandya Hewamanne spent time in a Sri Lankan free trade zone (FTZ) working and living among the workers to learn about their lives. "They were poor women from rural areas," Hewamanne writes, "who migrated to do garment work in transnational factories of a global assembly line. Their difficult work routines and sad living conditions have been examined in detail. When I was with them I often wondered whether anyone noticed the smiles, winks, smirks, gestures, tones of voice, the movies they saw, or the songs they sang." Hewamanne deftly weaves theories of identity,...

This book reviews one of the first organizations to be established in support of indigenous peoples. IWGIA was founded in 1968 by anthropologists concerned at the atrocities being committed against Indians in South America. Within a few years, a small group of dedicated scholars working on a voluntary basis established a documentation centre that became well-known to concerned people all over the world. Out of these beginnings grew a professional organization, which while still being involved in documentation embarked on international human rights activities, empowerment projects,...

The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has established a Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities that undertook a research and information visit to the Republic of Uganda in July 2006. From that visit this report was created, which gives an account of meetings held with government authorities, civil society organizations, indigenous communities, and other stakeholders. It describes the situation of the indigenous populations in the Republic of Uganda and it makes recommendations to the Government, civil society organizations, and the international community. The...

The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has established a Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities that undertook a research and information visit to the Central African Republic inJanuary 2007. From that visit this report was created, which gives an account of meetings held with government authorities, civil society organizations, indigenous communities, and other stakeholders. It describes the situation of the indigenous populations in the Central African Republic, explores two key groups of indigenous peoples (namely the Aka, who are the larger group of -Pygmies-...

Indigenous ways of understanding and interacting with the natural world are characterized as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), which derives from emphasizing relationships and connections among species. This book examines TEK and its strengths in relation to Western ecological knowledge and evolutionary philosophy. Pierotti takes a look at the scientific basis of this approach, focusing on different concepts of communities and connections among living entities, the importance of understanding the meaning of relatedness in both spiritual and biological creation, and a careful...

The heart of the theory is a completely new concept of social time. Black claims that the root cause of conflict is the movement of social time, including relational, vertical, and cultural time--changes in intimacy, inequality, and diversity....

Imagines the development of the Western Hemisphere without European contact and colonization.

This work answers the hypothetical question: What would the Americas be like today--politically, economically, culturally--if Columbus and the Europeans had never found them, and how would American peoples interact with the world's other societies? It assumes that Columbus did not embark from Spain in 1492 and that no Europeans found or settled the New World afterward, leaving the peoples of the two American continents free to follow the natural course of their Native...

• Represents the first volume to consider the modern role of holism as a central anthropological concern across a wide range of anthropological traditions
• Critically examines the past and present predicament of holism and its potential for the renewal of future practice
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