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The Rebirth of Anthropological Theory / Stanley Barrett.

By: Material type: TextTextSeries: HeritagePublisher: Toronto : University of Toronto Press, [1992]Copyright date: ©1992Description: 1 online resource (280 p.)Content type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780802067180
  • 9781442682177
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 306/.01 22
LOC classification:
  • GN345 .B28 1984eb
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources: Summary: Innovative and often controversial, Barrett's study ranges over the entire scope of anthropological theory. It provides a fresh interpretation of the history of theory and mounts an alternative perspective, built around dialectics, that is eminently suitable to post-colonial anthropology.He argues that anthropological theory has failed to be cumulative. It has been characterized by oscillation and repetition - theoretical orientations have appeared and disappeared, only to be discovered once again. Addressing numerous conceptual contradictions which have never been resolved, he introduces novel concepts such as salvage theory and backward theory, and argues that in many respects anthropological theory resembles the structuralists interpretation of myth.Social life, he asserts, is inherently contradictory, although concealed by numerous mechanisms, most of which reinforce the status quo. Attacking the illusion of simplicity which has dominated positivistic approaches and the out-dated identification of anthropology with non-Western, primitive, and tribal societies, Barrett contends that power and privilege everywhere should be the basic concerns of anthropological inquiry.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9781442682177

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

Innovative and often controversial, Barrett's study ranges over the entire scope of anthropological theory. It provides a fresh interpretation of the history of theory and mounts an alternative perspective, built around dialectics, that is eminently suitable to post-colonial anthropology.He argues that anthropological theory has failed to be cumulative. It has been characterized by oscillation and repetition - theoretical orientations have appeared and disappeared, only to be discovered once again. Addressing numerous conceptual contradictions which have never been resolved, he introduces novel concepts such as salvage theory and backward theory, and argues that in many respects anthropological theory resembles the structuralists interpretation of myth.Social life, he asserts, is inherently contradictory, although concealed by numerous mechanisms, most of which reinforce the status quo. Attacking the illusion of simplicity which has dominated positivistic approaches and the out-dated identification of anthropology with non-Western, primitive, and tribal societies, Barrett contends that power and privilege everywhere should be the basic concerns of anthropological inquiry.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 01. Nov 2023)