Maria‐Zoe Petropoulou
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199218547
- eISBN:
- 9780191711503
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199218547.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter deals with the main anthropological theories on sacrifice in general, and on Jewish and Greek sacrifice in particular. The few historical approaches to the issue of sacrifice are also ...
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This chapter deals with the main anthropological theories on sacrifice in general, and on Jewish and Greek sacrifice in particular. The few historical approaches to the issue of sacrifice are also presented, with emphasis on Nilsson's approach. A way of understanding the mechanism of animal sacrifice, based on the intersection of two axes, the one vertical (linking humans to the deity), the other horizontal (that of reality), is presented. It is explained that the book mainly deals with the horizontal axis, which consists of many sections, each one representing a particular realm of reality. The code of language moves along the whole of each axis, and communicates the meanings carried through the axis. This scheme will prove very important in the study of sacrificial metaphors, in which the terms normally applied to one section of the horizontal axis move towards other sections of it.Less
This chapter deals with the main anthropological theories on sacrifice in general, and on Jewish and Greek sacrifice in particular. The few historical approaches to the issue of sacrifice are also presented, with emphasis on Nilsson's approach. A way of understanding the mechanism of animal sacrifice, based on the intersection of two axes, the one vertical (linking humans to the deity), the other horizontal (that of reality), is presented. It is explained that the book mainly deals with the horizontal axis, which consists of many sections, each one representing a particular realm of reality. The code of language moves along the whole of each axis, and communicates the meanings carried through the axis. This scheme will prove very important in the study of sacrificial metaphors, in which the terms normally applied to one section of the horizontal axis move towards other sections of it.
Eller Cynthia
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520248595
- eISBN:
- 9780520948556
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520248595.003.0004
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter takes a look at the sudden interest of anthropologists in matriarchy. It reviews several anthropological theories of matriarchy from the late nineteenth century, including Henry Sumner ...
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This chapter takes a look at the sudden interest of anthropologists in matriarchy. It reviews several anthropological theories of matriarchy from the late nineteenth century, including Henry Sumner Maine's patriarchal theory and Sir John Lubbock's matriarchal myth. The chapter shows that matriarchal myth reigned as dogma within British anthropology, and slowly spread out to the cultural mainstream.Less
This chapter takes a look at the sudden interest of anthropologists in matriarchy. It reviews several anthropological theories of matriarchy from the late nineteenth century, including Henry Sumner Maine's patriarchal theory and Sir John Lubbock's matriarchal myth. The chapter shows that matriarchal myth reigned as dogma within British anthropology, and slowly spread out to the cultural mainstream.
Robert Wokler and Christopher Brooke
Bryan Garsten (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691147888
- eISBN:
- 9781400842407
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691147888.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
The diffusion of Rousseau's influence over the past two centuries has been so wide and so substantial that hardly a subject or movement appears to have escaped his clutches. Rousseau perceived a ...
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The diffusion of Rousseau's influence over the past two centuries has been so wide and so substantial that hardly a subject or movement appears to have escaped his clutches. Rousseau perceived a historical connection between the animal and cultural features of humanity, and between our physical evolution and social development, which led him to construct a comprehensive anthropological theory remarkably original in his own day and remains worthy of critical investigation now. This chapter sketches the leading features of that theory in the intellectual context, which at once most clearly establishes their meaning and elucidates their significance as well. For Rousseau, our physical evolution is based on a set of conjectures to the effect that the human race may have descended from apes.Less
The diffusion of Rousseau's influence over the past two centuries has been so wide and so substantial that hardly a subject or movement appears to have escaped his clutches. Rousseau perceived a historical connection between the animal and cultural features of humanity, and between our physical evolution and social development, which led him to construct a comprehensive anthropological theory remarkably original in his own day and remains worthy of critical investigation now. This chapter sketches the leading features of that theory in the intellectual context, which at once most clearly establishes their meaning and elucidates their significance as well. For Rousseau, our physical evolution is based on a set of conjectures to the effect that the human race may have descended from apes.
Bezalel Bar-Kochva
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520253360
- eISBN:
- 9780520943636
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520253360.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter studies Theoprastus, the first of four Greek authors during the early Hellenistic period to write about the Jews, and is concerned with his views on Jewish sacrificial practices and the ...
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This chapter studies Theoprastus, the first of four Greek authors during the early Hellenistic period to write about the Jews, and is concerned with his views on Jewish sacrificial practices and the Jewish philosopher community. Theoprastus's thoughts on these two topics are featured in a passage in his work, the Peri eusebeias. The chapter also studies his anthropological theory and his reference to the Jews during his explanation of the development of human dietary and sacrificial habits.Less
This chapter studies Theoprastus, the first of four Greek authors during the early Hellenistic period to write about the Jews, and is concerned with his views on Jewish sacrificial practices and the Jewish philosopher community. Theoprastus's thoughts on these two topics are featured in a passage in his work, the Peri eusebeias. The chapter also studies his anthropological theory and his reference to the Jews during his explanation of the development of human dietary and sacrificial habits.
Valentina Napolitano
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520233188
- eISBN:
- 9780520928473
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520233188.003.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the relationship between migration, religion, medicine, gender identity, the dynamics of belonging, and everyday life in ...
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This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the relationship between migration, religion, medicine, gender identity, the dynamics of belonging, and everyday life in urban Mexico. It aims to convey an emerging anthropological particularity through an ordinary urban place rather than assume its particularity prior to the ethnographic engagement. It proposes an anthropological theory that questions what is ordinary and explores the relation between the ordinary and the exotic.Less
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the relationship between migration, religion, medicine, gender identity, the dynamics of belonging, and everyday life in urban Mexico. It aims to convey an emerging anthropological particularity through an ordinary urban place rather than assume its particularity prior to the ethnographic engagement. It proposes an anthropological theory that questions what is ordinary and explores the relation between the ordinary and the exotic.
Dayna S. Kalleres
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780520276475
- eISBN:
- 9780520956841
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520276475.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter presents the book’s framework as: (1) a new form of cultural history (animistic history of demons in the city or ecclesiastical authority); and (2) historiographical critique (why have ...
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This chapter presents the book’s framework as: (1) a new form of cultural history (animistic history of demons in the city or ecclesiastical authority); and (2) historiographical critique (why have demonologies of late antique cities been neglected in scholarship?). To that end, I present the thesis, my methodology (intertwining material analyses—i.e., archaeology—and literary analyses), and theoretical approaches (anthropology, ritual theory). I discuss the wider, historiographical background (Gibbon’s narrative of fall and decline replaced by late antiquity’s dynamic of continuity and transformation), which shaped my alternative view of the relationship between a perceived historical progression and imagined enchanted environment (Robert Orsi's abundant history, animistic history)—a relationship animated through ritual practice. Finally, I present the centrality of diabolization in my thesis. Ecclesiastical leadership in cities employed demonological discourse and exorcistic practice—that is, diabolization—to a maintain congregations and Christianize the city. Diabolization is comprised of two parts: first, a rhetorical/discursive amplification of the demonic, the intensification of the demonic threat, drawing it closer and closing the distance that demonization creates; second, a ritual strategy aimed toward defeating or managing the demonic. This ritual process redefined the topographical urban map, shifted the urban worldview and concepts of embodied charismatic power.Less
This chapter presents the book’s framework as: (1) a new form of cultural history (animistic history of demons in the city or ecclesiastical authority); and (2) historiographical critique (why have demonologies of late antique cities been neglected in scholarship?). To that end, I present the thesis, my methodology (intertwining material analyses—i.e., archaeology—and literary analyses), and theoretical approaches (anthropology, ritual theory). I discuss the wider, historiographical background (Gibbon’s narrative of fall and decline replaced by late antiquity’s dynamic of continuity and transformation), which shaped my alternative view of the relationship between a perceived historical progression and imagined enchanted environment (Robert Orsi's abundant history, animistic history)—a relationship animated through ritual practice. Finally, I present the centrality of diabolization in my thesis. Ecclesiastical leadership in cities employed demonological discourse and exorcistic practice—that is, diabolization—to a maintain congregations and Christianize the city. Diabolization is comprised of two parts: first, a rhetorical/discursive amplification of the demonic, the intensification of the demonic threat, drawing it closer and closing the distance that demonization creates; second, a ritual strategy aimed toward defeating or managing the demonic. This ritual process redefined the topographical urban map, shifted the urban worldview and concepts of embodied charismatic power.
Harvey Whitehouse
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199794393
- eISBN:
- 9780199919338
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199794393.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General, Philosophy of Science
This chapter argues that there is a much more formidable obstacle to vertical integration of the humanities and sciences than is generally appreciated: It is not that we have an intuitive ...
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This chapter argues that there is a much more formidable obstacle to vertical integration of the humanities and sciences than is generally appreciated: It is not that we have an intuitive predisposition to adopt erroneous (e.g., Cartesian) construals of the sociocultural realm, but that we have no stable and reliable intuitions about that realm and appeal to a wide range of inferential strategies to make sense of it. As part of their evolutionary endowment, humans have dedicated cognitive machinery for reasoning about physical properties (such as solidity, gravity), biological properties (such as essentialized differences between natural kinds), and psychological properties (such as the capacity to entertain false beliefs). Our intuitive physics, intuitive biology, and intuitive psychology may be challenged by scientific physics/biology/psychology but for the most part our intuitions provide a stable and robust foundation for preserving the integrity of these domains of enquiry and exploring possibilities for integration at the boundaries between them. Unfortunately, however, we lack a set of domain-specific competences for reasoning about sociocultural phenomena: we have no intuitive sociology. The chapter presents detailed evidence of this deficit in intuitive thinking, showing how our various strategies for reasoning about the sociocultural are driven by not one but many domain-specific inferential engines. That is why the integration of the humanities and sciences is so fraught with conceptual difficulties—but it is also why only science can provide solutions.Less
This chapter argues that there is a much more formidable obstacle to vertical integration of the humanities and sciences than is generally appreciated: It is not that we have an intuitive predisposition to adopt erroneous (e.g., Cartesian) construals of the sociocultural realm, but that we have no stable and reliable intuitions about that realm and appeal to a wide range of inferential strategies to make sense of it. As part of their evolutionary endowment, humans have dedicated cognitive machinery for reasoning about physical properties (such as solidity, gravity), biological properties (such as essentialized differences between natural kinds), and psychological properties (such as the capacity to entertain false beliefs). Our intuitive physics, intuitive biology, and intuitive psychology may be challenged by scientific physics/biology/psychology but for the most part our intuitions provide a stable and robust foundation for preserving the integrity of these domains of enquiry and exploring possibilities for integration at the boundaries between them. Unfortunately, however, we lack a set of domain-specific competences for reasoning about sociocultural phenomena: we have no intuitive sociology. The chapter presents detailed evidence of this deficit in intuitive thinking, showing how our various strategies for reasoning about the sociocultural are driven by not one but many domain-specific inferential engines. That is why the integration of the humanities and sciences is so fraught with conceptual difficulties—but it is also why only science can provide solutions.
Rainer F. Buschmann
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824831844
- eISBN:
- 9780824869960
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824831844.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
Anthropologists and world historians make strange bedfellows. Although the latter frequently employ anthropological methods in their descriptions of cross-cultural exchanges, the former have raised ...
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Anthropologists and world historians make strange bedfellows. Although the latter frequently employ anthropological methods in their descriptions of cross-cultural exchanges, the former have raised substantial reservations about global approaches to history. Fearing loss of specificity, anthropologists object to the effacing qualities of techniques employed by world historians—this despite the fact that anthropology itself was a global, comparative enterprise in the nineteenth century. This book seeks to recover some of anthropology's global flavor by viewing its history in Oceania through the notion of the ethnographic frontier—the furthermost limits of the anthropologically known regions of the Pacific. The colony of German New Guinea (1884–1914) presents an ideal example of just such a contact zone. Colonial administrators there were drawn to approaches partially inspired by anthropology. Anthropologists and museum officials exploited this interest by preparing large-scale expeditions to German New Guinea. The book explores the interactions between German colonial officials, resident ethnographic collectors, and indigenous peoples, arguing that all were instrumental in the formation of anthropological theory. It shows how changes in collecting aims and methods helped shift ethnographic study away from its focus on material artifacts to a broader consideration of indigenous culture. It also shows how ethnological collecting could become politicized and connect to national concerns.Less
Anthropologists and world historians make strange bedfellows. Although the latter frequently employ anthropological methods in their descriptions of cross-cultural exchanges, the former have raised substantial reservations about global approaches to history. Fearing loss of specificity, anthropologists object to the effacing qualities of techniques employed by world historians—this despite the fact that anthropology itself was a global, comparative enterprise in the nineteenth century. This book seeks to recover some of anthropology's global flavor by viewing its history in Oceania through the notion of the ethnographic frontier—the furthermost limits of the anthropologically known regions of the Pacific. The colony of German New Guinea (1884–1914) presents an ideal example of just such a contact zone. Colonial administrators there were drawn to approaches partially inspired by anthropology. Anthropologists and museum officials exploited this interest by preparing large-scale expeditions to German New Guinea. The book explores the interactions between German colonial officials, resident ethnographic collectors, and indigenous peoples, arguing that all were instrumental in the formation of anthropological theory. It shows how changes in collecting aims and methods helped shift ethnographic study away from its focus on material artifacts to a broader consideration of indigenous culture. It also shows how ethnological collecting could become politicized and connect to national concerns.
Tom Shippey
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781781382615
- eISBN:
- 9781786945167
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781781382615.003.0019
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
The relationship of science fiction to anthropological theory is further exemplified, in this chapter, by the work of Ursula K. Le Guin, herself the daughter of two famous anthropologists, Alfred and ...
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The relationship of science fiction to anthropological theory is further exemplified, in this chapter, by the work of Ursula K. Le Guin, herself the daughter of two famous anthropologists, Alfred and Theodora Kroeber. The first three volumes of Le Guin’s “Earthsea” trilogy once again place magic within the framework of her parents’ discipline. Her work moreover considers the relationship of magic to ancient myth, and also (as in Frazer’s Golden Bough) to religious belief and ritual, all of these considered with a mixture of criticism and sympathy. Le Guin manages the difficult feat of being at once iconoclastic and mythopoeic.Less
The relationship of science fiction to anthropological theory is further exemplified, in this chapter, by the work of Ursula K. Le Guin, herself the daughter of two famous anthropologists, Alfred and Theodora Kroeber. The first three volumes of Le Guin’s “Earthsea” trilogy once again place magic within the framework of her parents’ discipline. Her work moreover considers the relationship of magic to ancient myth, and also (as in Frazer’s Golden Bough) to religious belief and ritual, all of these considered with a mixture of criticism and sympathy. Le Guin manages the difficult feat of being at once iconoclastic and mythopoeic.
Bill Jordan
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847420800
- eISBN:
- 9781447304210
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847420800.003.0008
- Subject:
- Sociology, Health, Illness, and Medicine
This chapter examines some of the analyses of the dynamics of social value that have appeared in the economic literature. It also shows what is missing from them, and what can be derived from social ...
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This chapter examines some of the analyses of the dynamics of social value that have appeared in the economic literature. It also shows what is missing from them, and what can be derived from social and anthropological theory to fill these gaps. Topics discussed in this chapter are: social sources of well-being; the ritual nature of social value; and the contribution of social theory.Less
This chapter examines some of the analyses of the dynamics of social value that have appeared in the economic literature. It also shows what is missing from them, and what can be derived from social and anthropological theory to fill these gaps. Topics discussed in this chapter are: social sources of well-being; the ritual nature of social value; and the contribution of social theory.
Kerry Ryan Chance
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780226519524
- eISBN:
- 9780226519838
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226519838.003.0008
- Subject:
- Anthropology, African Cultural Anthropology
The Introduction defines and maps the contours of living politics by explicating the book’s overall ethnographic setting, methodology, and concerns within anthropological theory. As the chapter ...
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The Introduction defines and maps the contours of living politics by explicating the book’s overall ethnographic setting, methodology, and concerns within anthropological theory. As the chapter explores, poor residents refer to street protests and everyday practices of community building such as occupying land, constructing shacks, and illicitly connecting to water and energy infrastructure as living politics or ipolitiki ephilayo in isiZulu. Living politics is premised upon a collective self-identification of “the poor” that cuts across historically ‘African,’ ‘Indian,’ and so-called ‘Coloured’ (or mixed-race) communities. The chapter argues that, as governance increasingly is managed by a globalized private sector, living politics borrows practices of the liberation struggle, as well as from the powers invested in emerging technologies and the recently desegregated courts.Less
The Introduction defines and maps the contours of living politics by explicating the book’s overall ethnographic setting, methodology, and concerns within anthropological theory. As the chapter explores, poor residents refer to street protests and everyday practices of community building such as occupying land, constructing shacks, and illicitly connecting to water and energy infrastructure as living politics or ipolitiki ephilayo in isiZulu. Living politics is premised upon a collective self-identification of “the poor” that cuts across historically ‘African,’ ‘Indian,’ and so-called ‘Coloured’ (or mixed-race) communities. The chapter argues that, as governance increasingly is managed by a globalized private sector, living politics borrows practices of the liberation struggle, as well as from the powers invested in emerging technologies and the recently desegregated courts.
Khaled Furani
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- October 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198797852
- eISBN:
- 9780191839177
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198797852.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter proposes ways in which theology could promote a critique of idolatries in modern anthropology. It culls resources by scouring Nietzsche’s arguments against modernity. Nietzsche enables a ...
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This chapter proposes ways in which theology could promote a critique of idolatries in modern anthropology. It culls resources by scouring Nietzsche’s arguments against modernity. Nietzsche enables a vision of modern anthropology as symptomatic of God’s death in the West, thus inducing questions about the ways its adoration of idols may inhibit a truer inquiry. The chapter finds examples to this effect in anthropology’s engagement with the nation state, humanism, and the constitutive concept of culture. It then speculates as to how a theological repudiation of anthropology’s idols could support a conceptual and institutional renewal going far beyond enhancing its study of religion. For instance, anthropology awakened by theistic rationality could adequately engage with the concept of tradition. It could also forge a new grammar of connectivity within the discipline as well as within the disciplinary arrangements of the modern university.Less
This chapter proposes ways in which theology could promote a critique of idolatries in modern anthropology. It culls resources by scouring Nietzsche’s arguments against modernity. Nietzsche enables a vision of modern anthropology as symptomatic of God’s death in the West, thus inducing questions about the ways its adoration of idols may inhibit a truer inquiry. The chapter finds examples to this effect in anthropology’s engagement with the nation state, humanism, and the constitutive concept of culture. It then speculates as to how a theological repudiation of anthropology’s idols could support a conceptual and institutional renewal going far beyond enhancing its study of religion. For instance, anthropology awakened by theistic rationality could adequately engage with the concept of tradition. It could also forge a new grammar of connectivity within the discipline as well as within the disciplinary arrangements of the modern university.
Philipp Zehmisch
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199469864
- eISBN:
- 9780199089116
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199469864.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies), Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
Chapter 2 contextualizes the Andaman Islands as a fieldwork location. It has two major objectives: First, it serves to introduce the reader to the Andamans as a geographical, ecological, and ...
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Chapter 2 contextualizes the Andaman Islands as a fieldwork location. It has two major objectives: First, it serves to introduce the reader to the Andamans as a geographical, ecological, and political space and as a site of imagination. This representation of the islands concentrates on the interplay of discourses and policies which have shaped their global, national, and local perception as well as the everyday life of the Andaman population. Second, the chapter underlines the conflation of anthropological theory, fieldwork, and biographical transformations. It demonstrates how recent theoretical trends and paradigm shifts in global and academic discourse have become enmeshed with the author’s experiences in and perceptions of the field. Elaborating on these intricate personal and professional ‘spectacles’ of the fieldworker, the author thus contextualizes the subjective conditions inherent in the production of ethnography as a type of literature.Less
Chapter 2 contextualizes the Andaman Islands as a fieldwork location. It has two major objectives: First, it serves to introduce the reader to the Andamans as a geographical, ecological, and political space and as a site of imagination. This representation of the islands concentrates on the interplay of discourses and policies which have shaped their global, national, and local perception as well as the everyday life of the Andaman population. Second, the chapter underlines the conflation of anthropological theory, fieldwork, and biographical transformations. It demonstrates how recent theoretical trends and paradigm shifts in global and academic discourse have become enmeshed with the author’s experiences in and perceptions of the field. Elaborating on these intricate personal and professional ‘spectacles’ of the fieldworker, the author thus contextualizes the subjective conditions inherent in the production of ethnography as a type of literature.
