Against the Grain: The Vayda Tradition in Human Ecology and Ecological Anthropology - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0759111731 ISBN 13: 9780759111738

Publisher: AltaMira Press, 2008

Synopsis

To rise to the increasingly urgent challenge of understanding the relationship between human beings and the environment, scholars need to step back and re-evaluate their basic premises about how current explanations should shape the form and content of th

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Review

In a world of enormous socio-environmental complexity, perhaps the most laudable intellectual position is one of rigorous humility. The works in this volume are compelling tributes to such an approach, providing sober, meticulous, and powerful explanations, all of which urge against over-simple generalization and a priori assumptions, which too often blur our understanding of the environmental changes around us. The Vayda tradition is alive and well, and we would all do well to heed its lessons.--Paul Robbins, University of Wisconsin-Madison

This is an excellent volume. Its strength lies in providing an intellectual history of an eminent anthropologist and a partial understanding of his influence on scholars and on anthropological theory, methodology, and practice over a considerable number of years.--Current Anthropology, October 2009

. . . An excellent volume . . . Its strength lies in providing an intellectual history of an eminent anthropologist and a partial understanding of his influence on scholars and on anthropological theory, methodology, and practice over a considerable number of years.--Current Anthropology, October 2009

The volume is a resource that is likely to be referenced frequently by researchers and individual chapters will provide excellent reading material for courses in ecological anthropology.--Human Ecology, 18 February 2010

Against the Grain provides an admirable survey of Vayda's career, shows some interesting extensions and applications of his ideas, and provides an elaborated critique of contrasting views in human ecology and ecological anthropology. I recommend this book to all who explore human environment relationships and those economic botanists who wish to explore "why" questions in their study of plant use.--Economic Botany

About the Author

Bradley B. Walters is associate professor of geography & environment at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. Bonnie J. McCay is Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, in the Department of Human Ecology. Paige West is assistant professor of anthropology at Barnard College, New York. Susan Lees is professor emerita of anthropology at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

About this edition

• Publisher: AltaMira Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0759111731
• ISBN 13: 9780759111738
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 392
• Editor: Walters Bradley B.