Visions of culture : an introduction to anthropological theories and theorists

This new edition of Visions of Culture presents new anthropology students with a brief, readable, and balanced treatment of theoretical developments in the field from the days of Tylor and Morgan to the present. The key ideas of 24 major theorists are briefly described and, unique to this textbook, linked to the biographical and fieldwork experiences that helped shape their theories. The impact of each academic on contemporary anthropology is presented, along with numerous explanatory examples, illuminating quotes from the theorists' writings, and a description of the broader intellectual setting in which these anthropologists worked. This edition features new pieces on Sherry Ortner, Pierre Bordieu and Eric Wolf, an Epilogue that describes key current debates over theory, and an update of earlier chapters. This is an ideal text for classes on the theory or the history of anthropology: balanced, interesting and student-friendly. Theorists covered include Tylor, Morgan, Boas, Durkheim, Kroeber, Benedict, Sapir, Mead, Mauss, Malinowski, Radcliffe-Brown, Evans-Pritchard, White, Steward, Harris, Leacock, Levi-Strauss, Turner, Geertz, Douglas, Fernandez, Ortner, Bordieu, and Wolf.