Tradition as Truth and Communication : A Cognitive Description of Traditional Discourse / Pascal Boyer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Boyer, Pascal.

Series:

Cambridge books online.

Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology ; no. 68

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Intercultural communication.

Cognition and culture.

Language and culture.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (156 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1990.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

text file

PDF

Summary:

Tradition is a central concept in the social sciences, but it is commonly treated as unproblematic. Dr. Boyer insists that social anthropology requires a theory of tradition, its constitution and transmission. He treats tradition "as a type of interaction which results in the repetition of certain communicative events," and therefore as a form of social action. Tradition as Truth and Communication deals particularly with oral communication and focuses on the privileged role of licensed speakers and the ritual contexts in which certain aspects of tradition are characteristically transmitted. Drawing on cognitive psychology, Dr. Boyer proposes a set of general hypotheses to be tested by ethnographic field research. He has opened up an important new field for investigation within social anthropology.

Notes:

Title from publishers bibliographic system (viewed on 30 Apr 2012).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9780511521058

9780521374170

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.