This revised edition with new Introduction from a leading anthropologist and an economist is unique in being about consumption but not a sermon for consumers, nor a moan against consumerism. The World of Goods bridges the gap between what anthropologists know about why objects are desired and what economists say about the specialised topic called consumption behaviour. The economist treats the desire for objects as an individual urge grounded in psychology; according to the anthropologist it is for fulfilling social obligations and represents the distribution of goods as a symptom of the form of society. It is a totally different perspectice and raises issues that lie beyond economics. The World of Goods asks new questions about why people save, why they spend, what they buy, and why they sometimes but not always make fine distinctions about quality. It is well-understood now that consumption goods communicate, create identity and establish relationships. But not so well-known that goods exclude as well as include, and that the pattern of their flow shows up the form of society. This book will be essential reading to students and lecturers in anthropology and economics.

The World of Goods (Volume 12)

DOUGLAS, Mary

Douglas, Professor Mary

Isherwood, Baron

Reference

Routledge

Implicit Meanings: Selected Essays in Anthropology

'No more sparkling and suggestive work of social science is likely to appear in the near future. This book provides a splendid answer as to why anthropology goes on mattering and also to why no surgery can separate it from sociology '-The Economist from the reviews of the first edition This new edition of a classic work provides an excellent introduction to the thought of anthropologist Mary Douglas. First published to great acclaim in 1975, Mary Douglas has now revised the text to include additional chapters and a new introduction.Implicit Meanings includes writings on the key themes which are associated with Mary Douglas's work and which have had a major influence on anthropological thought, such as: *food *pollution *risk *animals *myth. Among the new pieces inluded in this edition are: The Lele of the Kasai * Techniques of Socrcery Control in Central Africa * The Lele Revisited * Obituary of Godfrey Lienhardt * The Depolitzation of Risk * Rightness of Categories

Politics & Social Sciences

MARY DOUGLAS

Social Sciences

Purity and Danger is acknowledged as a modern masterpiece of anthropology. It is widely cited in non-anthropological works and gave rise to a body of application, rebuttal and development within anthropology. In 1995 the book was included among the Times Literary Supplement's hundred most influential non-fiction works since WWII. Incorporating the philosophy of religion and science and a generally holistic approach to classification, Douglas demonstrates the relevance of anthropological enquiries to an audience outside her immediate academic circle. She offers an approach to understanding rules of purity by examining what is considered unclean in various cultures. She sheds light on the symbolism of what is considered clean and dirty in relation to order in secular and religious, modern and primitive life.

Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo

Implicit Meanings was first published to great acclaim in 1975. It includes writings on the key themes which are associated with Mary Douglas' work and which have had a major influence on anthropological thought, such as food, pollution, risk, animals and myth. The papers in this text demonstrate the importance of seeking to understand beliefs and practices that are implicit and a priori within what might seem to be alien cultures.

Risk and Blame: Essays in Cultural Theory

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.

Implicit Meanings (Mary Douglas: Collected Works, 5)

First published in 1979, this volume introduces a cultural factor to theories of consumption. The World of Goods goes beyond standard economic analyses, which rely on theories of individual psychology. Douglas studies how consumers use goods to fulfil their intentions in regard to one another. The World of Goods insists that goods are wanted for social purposes, for sharing and giving, more than for the private enjoyment that is the pivot of utilitarian explanations. This book offers a completely original way of thinking about consumption as a series of rituals.

The World of Goods (Collected Works)

Natural Symbols: Explorations in Cosmology

Implicit Meanings

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

Books by Douglas, Professor Mary

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

The World of Goods (Volume 12)

Implicit Meanings: Selected Essays in Anthropology

Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo

Implicit Meanings: Selected Essays in Anthropology

Risk and Blame: Essays in Cultural Theory

Implicit Meanings (Mary Douglas: Collected Works, 5)

The World of Goods (Collected Works)

Natural Symbols: Explorations in Cosmology

Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo

Implicit Meanings