Ceremonial Animal

Table Of Contents
FOREWORD
By Michael J. Lambek, Professor Of Anthropology, University Of Toronto
THE QUEST FOR PATTERN
1. Key Questions In Anthropology
2. Dialogues With Grand Theory
SHAPE AND RHYTHM IN SOCIAL FORMS
3. Species, Space, And Time
4. Daughters Of The Dance
5. On Ritual And Social Memoey
LANGUAGE AND THE MAKING OF PERSONS
6. Language And Social Engagement
7. The Dialectics Of Gender And Generation
8. Human Bodies, Social Persons, And Selves
PRACTICE AND POLITICS IN THE CEREMONIAL ARENA
9. Place, Home, And Habitus
10. Work, Wealth, And Exchange
11. Theatres Of Power, War, And Peace
LARGE-SCALE MODERN FORMS
12. The New Spaces: Cities And Popular Culture
13. The Modern Person And ‘The Market’
14. States, ‘Nations’, And The Struggles Of The People
CONCLUDING ESSAY
15. Anthropology As A Human Science: Conversations With History And Religion Notes Select Bibliography

Additional Info
Description
Adapting Wittgenstein’s concept of the human species as ‘a ceremonial animal’, Wendy James writes vividly and readably. Her new overview advocates a clear line of argument: that the concept of social form is a primary key to anthropology and the human sciences as a whole. Weaving memorable ethnographic examples into her text, James brings together carefully selected historical sources as well as references to current ideas in neighbouring disciplines such as archaeology, paleoanthropology, genetics, art and material culture, ethnomusicology, urban and development studies, politics, economics, psychology, and religious studies. She shows the relevance of anthropology to pressing world issues such as migration, humanitarian politics, the new reproductive technologies, and religious fundamentalism.

Wendy James’s engaging style will appeal to specialist and non-specialist alike. The Foreword is written by Michael J. Lambek, Professor of Anthropology, University of Toronto.