Beyond Relativism: Comparability in Cultural Anthropology

Can elements of one culture―kinship relations, for example―be profitably compared to similar elements in other cultures? According to much anthropological thinking of recent decades, the answer is "no." Cultures are closed systems, many people argue, and their internal elements can only be understood with respect to the culture as a whole. Cultural anthropologist Robert C. Hunt, drawing on his vast experience studying cultures around the world, here makes a powerful counter-argument that the various elements making up a culture not only can but must be compared across cultures if we are to understand them at all. Cultural comparison is not easy, and it cannot eliminate all ambiguity, but it is necessary if we are to develop a scientific understanding of how cultures work. This intriguing polemic will appeal to students of cultural anthropology, sociology, and ethnic studies, especially those interested in the theoretical grounding of these disciplines.

Hunt, Robert C.

Reference

AltaMira Press

<p>Can elements of one culture-kinship relations, for example-be profitably compared to similar elements in other cultures? According to much anthropological thinking of recent decades, the answer is 'no.' Cultures are closed systems, many people argue, and their internal elements can only be understood with respect to the culture as a whole. Cultural anthropologist Robert C. Hunt, drawing on his vast experience studying cultures around the world, here makes a powerful counter-argument that the various elements making up a culture not only can but must be compared across cultures if we are to understand them at all. Cultural comparison is not easy, and it cannot eliminate all ambiguity, but it is necessary if we are to develop a scientific understanding of how cultures work. This intriguing polemic will appeal to students of cultural anthropology, sociology, and ethnic studies, especially those interested in the theoretical grounding of these disciplines.</p>

Co-published with the Society for Economic Anthropology, Property in Economic Context presents fifteen original essays examining the definition and organization of property in the context of economic organization. Focusing on precapitalist societies as accessed through history and archaeology, as well as modern colonial encounters accessed through ethnography, the essays argue for and illustrate the importance of including specific property features when doing an analysis of economic organization. This is the first time that general property issues have been empirically investigated in this manner.

Property in Economic Context (Monographs in Economic Anthropology Series)

Business & Money

Gilman, Antonio

Economics

University Press of America

<p>Co-published with the Society for Economic Anthropology, Property in Economic Context presents fifteen original essays examining the definition and organization of property in the context of economic organization. Focusing on precapitalist societies as accessed through history and archaeology, as well as modern colonial encounters accessed through ethnography, the essays argue for and illustrate the importance of including specific property features when doing an analysis of economic organization. This is the first time that general property issues have been empirically investigated in this manner.</p>

Property in Economic Context (Volume 14) (Monographs in Economic Anthropology Series, 14)

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

Books by Hunt, Robert C.

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

Beyond Relativism: Comparability in Cultural Anthropology

Beyond Relativism: Comparability in Cultural Anthropology

Property in Economic Context (Monographs in Economic Anthropology Series)

Property in Economic Context (Volume 14) (Monographs in Economic Anthropology Series, 14)