Consciousness and Change Symbolic Anthropology in Evolutionary Perspective / James L. Peacock

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Peacock, James L.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Symbolic anthropology.

Social change.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (284 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, 2021.

Summary:

Symbols and symbolism are, and always have been, an integral part of myth, belief, ideology, ritual, art, and fantasy. These basic areas of human activity are traditionally investigated under a very wide range of headings; but this book ignores the boundaries of such diverse disciplines as political science, religious sociology, psychology, and literature. Originally published in 1975, Consciousness and Change draws upon all these sources, and more; the result is both an introduction to and a perspective on the developing (though at the time by no means clearly defined) field of symbolic anthropology. The book opens with an analysis of symbols, discussing some of their essential qualities. The author then proceeds to examine the Durkheimian and Weberian schools of thought, as reflected in the works of anthropologists ranging from Levi-Strauss to Clifford Geertz; next, he considers the development of Protean symbolism, using material material derived from his own field experience in the U.S. South and elsewhere. He concludes with a typology relating different types of symbols to different periods of history, from the primitivism of the Australian aborigine to the quasi-primitivism of the modern commune-dweller. While it is not intended as a comprehensive textbook, Consciousness and Change provides student and lay reader alike with an introductory overview of the anthropology of symbols.

Contents:

8. Traditional Society and Consciousness in Java: The Durkheimian Perspective

9. Society and Consciousness in Java: The Weberian Perspective

10. Society and Consciousness in the American South

11. Conclusion

References

Suggested Readings

Glossary

Subject Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

V

W

Y

Z

Author Index

Y

Cover

Half Title

Title

Copyright

Contents

Foreword

Preface

L Introduction: Units of Consciousness: Symbols

2. Traditional Society and Consciousness: The Durkheimian Perspective on Ritual

3. Traditional Society and Consciousness: The Durkheimian Perspective on Mythology and Thought

4. Transition to Modernity: The Weberian Perspective

5. Transition to Modernity: The Oedipal Aspect

6. Transition to Modernity: The Aesthetic Aspect

7. Modern Society and Consciousness: The Protean Perspective

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781469665993

1469665999

OCLC:

1244622976