ABSTRACT

First published in 1992, this volume follows on from the programme for studying risk and blame that was implied in Purity and Danger. The first half of the book Douglas argues that the study of risk needs a systematic framework of political and cultural comparison. In the latter half she examines questions in cultural theory. Through the eleven essays contained in Risk and Blame, Douglas argues that the prominence of risk discourse will force upon the social sciences a programme of rethinking and consolidation that will include anthropological approaches.

part |121 pages

Rish and Blame

chapter |19 pages

Risk and Blame 1

chapter |16 pages

Risk and Justice

chapter |17 pages

Risk and Danger

chapter |28 pages

Muffled Ears

chapter |19 pages

Witchcraft and Leprosy

Two strategies for rejection

chapter |20 pages

The Self as Risk-Taker

A cultural theory of contagion in relation to AIDS

part |85 pages

Wants and Institutions

chapter |6 pages

Wants

chapter |12 pages

No Free Gifts

Introduction to Mauss's essay on The Gift

chapter |20 pages

Institutions of the Third Kind

British and Swedish labour markets compared

chapter |21 pages

Autonomy and Opportunism

part |105 pages

Believing and Thinking

chapter |24 pages

Thought Style Exemplified

The idea of the self

chapter |20 pages

Credibility

chapter |16 pages

A Credible Biosphere

chapter |24 pages

The Debate On Women Priests

chapter |19 pages

The Hotel Kwilu

A model of models