The rise of anthropological theory : a history of theories of culture / Marvin Harris ; with an introduction by Maxine L. Margolis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harris, Marvin, 1927-2001.

Contributor:

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethnology--History.

Ethnology.

History.

Ethnology--Philosophy.

Culture.

Physical Description:

xv, 806 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

Updated edition.

Place of Publication:

Walnut Creek, CA : AltaMira Press, [2001]

Summary:

The best known, most often cited history of anthropological theory is finally available in paperback! First published in 1968, Harris's book has been cited in over 1,000 works and is one of the key documents explaining cultural materialism, the theory associated with Harris's work. This updated edition included the complete 1968 text plus a new introduction by Maxine Margolis, which discusses the impact of the book and highlights some of the major trends in anthropological theory since its original publication. RAT, as it is affectionately known to three decades of graduate students, comprehensively traces the history of anthropology and anthropological theory, culminating in a strong argument for the use of a scientific, behaviorally-based, etic approach to the understanding of human culture known as cultural materialism. Despite its popularity and influence on anthropological thinking, RAT has never been available in paperback_until now. It is an essential volume for the library of all anthropologists, their graduate students, and other theorists in the social sciences.

Contents:

2 Enlightenment 8

3 Reaction and Recovery: The Early Nineteenth Century 53

4 Rise of Racial Determinism 80

5 Spencerism 108

6 Evolutionism: Methods 142

7 The Evolutionists: Results 180

8 Dialectical Materialism 217

9 Historical Particularism: Boas 250

10 The Boasian Milieu 290

11 The Ethnographic Basis of Particularism 301

12 Kroeber 319

13 Lowie 343

14 Diffusionism 373

15 Culture and Personality: Pre-Freudian 393

16 Culture and Personality: Freudian 422

17 Culture and Personality: New Directions 449

18 French Structuralism 464

19 British Social Anthropology 514

20 Emics, Etics, and the New Ethnography 568

21 Statistical Survey and the Nomothetic Revival 605

22 Cultural Materialism: General Evolution 643

23 Cultural Materialism: Cultural Ecology 654.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 688-764) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

0759101329

0759101337

OCLC:

47100898