Bodies and Persons : Comparative Perspectives from Africa and Melanesia Paperback / softback
Edited by Michael (University of Toronto) Lambek, Andrew (University of Pittsburgh) Strathern
Paperback / softback
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Description
Large-scale comparisons are out of fashion in anthropology, but this book suggests a bold comparative approach to broad cultural differences between Africa and Melanesia.
Its theme is personhood, which is understood in terms of what anthropologists call 'embodiment'.
These concepts are applied to questions ranging from the meanings of spirit possession, to the logics of witchcraft and kinship relations, the use of rituals to heal the sick, 'electric vampires', and even the impact of capitalism.
There are detailed ethnographic analyses, and suggestive comparisons of classic African and Melanesian ethnographic cases, such as the Nuer and the Melpa.
The contributors debate alternative strategies for cross-cultural comparison, and demonstrate that there is a surprising range of continuities, putting in question common assumptions about the huge differences between these two parts of the world.
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Out of StockMore expected soonContact us for further information
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:316 pages, Worked examples or Exercises
- Publisher:Cambridge University Press
- Publication Date:28/03/1998
- Category:
- ISBN:9780521627375
Information
-
Out of StockMore expected soonContact us for further information
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:316 pages, Worked examples or Exercises
- Publisher:Cambridge University Press
- Publication Date:28/03/1998
- Category:
- ISBN:9780521627375