Anthropology: A Student's Guide to Theory and Method - Softcover

Barrett, Stanley R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802078338 ISBN 13: 9780802078339

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, 1996

Synopsis

This is the first book to provide an overview of theory and method in anthropology which is specifically aimed at students. Starting with anthropology's foundations in the late nineteenth century, Stanley R. Barrett brings the reader up to date on such topics as the influence of postmodern and feminist criticism, changes in ethnographic style, and the shift from scientific to humanistic discourse. He discusses the power relationships between anthropologists and their subjects, from the era of colonialism through that of contemporary cultural pluralism. Barrett shows that, in recent decades, a serious gap has emerged between theory and method - a gap that will ultimately have to be addressed by today's students.

About this title

About the Author

Stanley R. Barrett is a professor emeritus in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Guelph.

From the Back Cover

'Barrett's book weaves ably through the uncertainty of its own time, positing that conventional ethnography may outlast the assault from postmodernism and feminist anthropology, much of which Barrett sees as 'meta-theory and meta-method'(p.180). In the meantime this book provides tangible assistance in guiding approaches to field research, namely by avoiding an overly scientistic methodology while asserting that there is 'more going on in the discipline than postmodernism and feminist anthropology' (p. 177).'

From the Inside Flap

'Barrett's book weaves ably through the uncertainty of its own time, positing that conventional ethnography may outlast the assault from postmodernism and feminist anthropology, much of which Barrett sees as 'meta-theory and meta-method'(p.180). In the meantime this book provides tangible assistance in guiding approaches to field research, namely by avoiding an overly scientistic methodology while asserting that there is 'more going on in the discipline than postmodernism and feminist anthropology' (p. 177).'

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802078338
• ISBN 13: 9780802078339
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 270