The Reinvention of Primitive Society: Transformations of a Myth

Kuper, Adam

Routledge

Both a critical history of anthropological theory and methodology and a challenging on the sociology of science, "The Invention of Primitive Society" shows how anthropologists have tried to define the original form of human society.

The invention of primitive society: Transformations of an illusion

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Both a critical history of anthropological theory and methods and a challenging essay in the sociology of science, The Invention of Primitive Society shows how anthropologists have tried to define the original form of human society.

The Invention of Primitive Society: Transformations of an Illusion

Now in paperback, this reference tool for the social sciences is designed as a broad and accessible one-volume source providing over 700 in-depth entries by 500 contributors from 25 different countries. It should be of interest to all disciplines within the social sciences and related areas.

The Social Science Encyclopedia

Anthropology and Anthropologists: The Modern British School

On its first publication in 1973 Adam Kuper's entertaining history of half a century of British social anthropology provoked strong reactions. But his often irreverent account soon established itself as one of the introductions to anthropology. Since the second revised edition was published in 1983, important developments have occurred within British and European anthropology. This third, enlarged and updated edition responds to these fresh currents. Adam Kuper takes the story up to the present day, and a new final chapter traces the emergence of a modern European social anthropology in contrast with developments in American cultural anthropology over the last two decades. Anthropology and Anthropologists provides a critical historical account of modern British social anthropology: it describes the careers of the major theorists, their ideas and their contributions in the context of the intellectual and institutional environments in which they worked.

The Reinvention of Primitive Society

The Invention of Primitive Society, Adam Kuper’s best selling critique of ideas about the origins of society and religion that have been much debated since Darwin, has been hugely influential in anthropology and post-colonial studies.   This topical new edition, entitled The Reinvention of Primitive Society, has been thoroughly revised and updated to take account of new research in the field. It coincides with a revival of the myth of primitive society by the ‘indigenous peoples’ movement’, which taps into a widespread popular belief about the noble savage and reflects a romantic reaction against ‘civilisation’ and ‘science’. By way of fascinating accounts of classic texts in anthropology, classical studies and law, the book reveals how wholly mistaken theories can become the basis for academic research and political programmes. In new chapters, Kuper challenges this most recent version of the myth of primitive society and traces conceptions of the barbarian, savage and primitive back through the centuries to ancient Greece.  Lucidly written and student friendly, this is the must-have text for those interested in anthropological theory and current post-colonial debates.

History

Americas

The Invention of Primitive Society, Adam Kuper’s best selling critique of ideas about the origins of society and religion that have been much debated since Darwin, has been hugely influential in anthropology and post-colonial studies. This topical new edition, entitled The Reinvention of Primitive Society, has been thoroughly revised and updated to take account of new research in the field. It coincides with a revival of the myth of primitive society by the ‘indigenous peoples’ movement’, which taps into a widespread popular belief about the noble savage and reflects a romantic reaction against ‘civilisation’ and ‘science’. By way of fascinating accounts of classic texts in anthropology, classical studies and law, the book reveals how wholly mistaken theories can become the basis for academic research and political programmes. In new chapters, Kuper challenges this most recent version of the myth of primitive society and traces conceptions of the barbarian, savage and primitive back through the centuries to ancient Greece. Lucidly written and student friendly, this is the must-have text for those interested in anthropological theory and current post-colonial debates.

Anthropology and Anthropologists: The British School in the Twentieth Century

Anthropology and Anthropologists provides an entertaining and provocative account of British social anthropology from the foundations of the discipline, through the glory years of the mid-twentieth century and on to the transformation in recent decades. The book shocked the anthropological establishment on first publication in 1973 but soon established itself as one of the introductions for students of anthropology. Forty years later, this now classic work has been radically revised. Adam Kuper situates the leading actors in their historical and institutional context, probes their rivalries, revisits their debates, and reviews their key ethnographies. Drawing on recent scholarship he shows how the discipline was shaped by the colonial setting and by developments in the social sciences.

Anthropology

Anthropology and Anthropologists provides an entertaining and provocative account of British social anthropology from the foundations of the discipline, through the glory years of the mid-twentieth century and on to the transformation in recent decades. The book shocked the anthropological establishment on first publication in 1973 but soon established itself as one of the introductions for students of anthropology. Forty years later, this now classic work has been radically revised. Adam Kuper situates the leading actors in their historical and institutional context, probes their rivalries, revisits their debates, and reviews their key ethnographies. Drawing on recent scholarship he shows how the discipline was shaped by the colonial setting and by developments in the social sciences.

Ethnographies should be read as the products of a particular time and school and as individual worlds imbued with the personality and the experiences of their authors. Nonetheless, there are shared standards of argument and demonstration that also shape the end product. In consequence, the best work contributes ideas on data that outlive the particular circumstances in which they were produced. The essays in this text range from historical investigations of some of the classic sources of anthropology, to portraits of individual scholars and autobiographical reflections on recent developments in this field.

Among the Anthropologists: History and Context in Anthropology

UNKNO

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kuper, Adam. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Kuper, Adam

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kuper, Adam. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Reinvention of Primitive Society: Transformations of a Myth

The invention of primitive society: Transformations of an illusion

The Invention of Primitive Society: Transformations of an Illusion

The Social Science Encyclopedia

Anthropology and Anthropologists: The Modern British School

The Reinvention of Primitive Society: Transformations of a Myth

The Reinvention of Primitive Society

Anthropology and Anthropologists: The British School in the Twentieth Century

Anthropology and Anthropologists: The British School in the Twentieth Century

Among the Anthropologists: History and Context in Anthropology