ABSTRACT
Anthropological theory has been much discussed in recent years, yet the crucial questions still remain--how can it be defined, how is it developed, how is it to be applied, and how can one confirm it? The editors of Anthropological Theory answer these questions by presenting essays relating to various aspects of anthropological theory. Their selections from widely scattered and often difficult-to-obtain sources present a comprehensive set of writings that describe the current position and issues involved in theory.The development of field work in anthropology generated a tremendous emphasis on empirical data and research. The plethora of information awaiting collection and the enthusiasm with which the field embraced it so immersed anthropologists that they were unable to relate this new information to the field as a whole. Manners and Kaplan believe that this lack of generalization had a profoundly negative effect upon the discipline. Therefore, they look closely into the relationship between field work and theory in an opening essay and go on to present material that demonstrates the value and the necessity of theory in anthropology. Essays by anthropologists and other social scientists deal with ""explanation,"" evolution, ecology, ideology, structuralism, and a number of other issues reflecting throughout the editors' conviction that anthropology is a science, the goal of which is to produce generalizations about sociocultural phenomena.The book provides necessary perspective for examining and evaluating the crucial intellectual concerns of modern anthropology and will therefore be important for the work of every anthropologist.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |2 pages
PART I: OVERVIEW
part |2 pages
PART II: EXPLANATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE
part |2 pages
PART III: METHODOLOGY
part |2 pages
PART IV: FUNCTIONALISM, EVOLUTION, AND HISTORY
part |2 pages
PART V: CULTURE AND PERSONALITY
part |2 pages
PART VI: ECOLOGY
part |2 pages
PART VII: IDEOLOGY, LANGUAGE, AND VALUES
part |2 pages
PART VIII: STRUCTURALISM AND FORMAL ANALYSIS