Anthropology 101 - Cultural Anthropology: Books

The Encyclopedia of Anthropology is a unique collection that focuses on topics in physical anthropology, archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistics and applied anthropology. Also included are relevant articles on geology, paleontology, biology, evolution, sociology, psychology, philosophy and theology. The contributions are authored by internationally renowned experts, professors and scholars from some of the most distinguished museums, universities and institutes in the world.

Work covers medical anthropology, economic anthropology, humanism, cultural materialism, cross-cultural analysis, ethnography, statistics, caste, naming, cultural regions that have been the focus of field research, the Mead-Freeman controversy, the Wild Yam Question, the Pristine Myth, dialectology and cultural resource management.

Covers history, politics, customs, religion, education, human rights issues, rites of passage, and much more for 533 diverse cultural groups in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania, and Europe.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of global courtship and marriage customs, from ancient history to contemporary society, demonstrating the vast differences as well as the similarities across all of human culture.

This cultural encyclopedia examines customs and beliefs relating to death and burial in clear, well written articles covering most major religious and cultural traditions from prehistoric to modern times.

Each volume covers a major world religion, (Judaism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam) providing a detailed overview on the religion's history of foundation, text and major tenets, branches, practice worldwide, rituals and holidays, and major figures

Explores the nutritional and cultural impact of food, with articles written by anthropologists, chefs, food historians, nutritionists, agronomists, food stylists, and other food researches. The entries cover the history of regional cuisines, major festivals and feasts, and general subjects that examine the cultural, sociological, and psychological perspectives of food.

This is the only encyclopedia of social and cultural anthropology to cover fully the many important areas of overlap between anthropology and related disciplines. This work also covers key terms, ideas and people, thus eliminating the need to refer to other books for specific definitions or biographies. Special features include: * over 230 substantial entries on every major idea, individual and sub-discipline of social and cultural anthropology * over 100 international contributors * a glossary of more than 600 key terms and ideas.

This book offers an invaluable look at what cultural anthropologists do when they are in the field. The authors describe the many forms fieldwork can take, the kinds of questions anthropologists ask, and the common problems they encounter.

How are children raised in different cultures? What is the role of children in society? How are families and communities structured around them?This book argues that our common understandings about children are narrowly culture-bound. Enriched with anecdotes from ethnography and the daily media, the book examines family structure, reproduction, profiles of children's caretakers within family or community, their treatment at different ages, their play, work, schooling, and transition to adulthood. The result is a nuanced and credible picture of childhood in different cultures, past and present.

In Death, Mourning, and Burial, an introduction to the anthropology of death, readers will find a rich selection of some of the finest ethnographic work on this fascinating topic. Comprised of six sections that mirror the social trajectory of death: conceptualizations of death; death and dying; uncommon death; grief and mourning; mortuary rituals; and remembrance and regeneration Includes canonical readings as well as recent studies on topics such as organ donation and cannibalism

Coming of Age in Chicago explores a watershed moment in American anthropology, when an unprecedented number of historians and anthropologists of all subfields gathered on the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition fairgrounds, drawn together by the fair's focus on indigenous peoples.

This introduction to social and cultural anthropology has become a modern classic, revealing the rich global variation in social life and culture across the world.Presenting a clear overview of anthropology, it focuses on central topics such as kinship, ethnicity, ritual and political systems, offering a wealth of examples that demonstrate the enormous scope of anthropology and the importance of a comparative perspective.

This is the first academic study of sneakers and the subculture that surrounds them. Based on the author's own ethnographic fieldwork in New York, where sneaker subculture is said to have originated, this unique study traces the transformation of sneakers from sportswear to fashion symbol. Sneakers explores the obsessions and idiosyncrasies surrounding the sneaker phenomenon, from competitive subcultures to sneaker painting and artwork.