EXPLORATIONS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

“Explorations in Cultural Anthropology” is a collection of readings chosen to demonstrate the varied and valuable applications of the anthropological perspective to real-world problems on local, regional, and global scales. It introduces undergraduates to the exciting, perplexing, and troubling issues that sociocultural anthropologists confront in their work in academia and beyond. Students now have a one-stop source for a variety of key ethnographic and cultural materials without having to buy or search for numerous texts.

“Explorations in Cultural Anthropology” offers thirty-one classic readings and contemporary anthropological essays as well as pieces written by journalists, scholars from other disciplines, cultural consultants, and community leaders. The selections are meant to thoughtfully challenge students and provoke further discussion within introductory-level classrooms. The book is organized into nine parts that reflect significant themes and current trends in cultural anthropology: “Culture” ; “Fieldwork and Ethnography” ; “Language, Communication, and Expressive Culture” ; “Socioeconomic and Political Systems in a Changing World” ; “Race and Ethnicity” ; “Gender and Sexuality” ; “Marriage, Family, and Kinship” ; “Belief Systems” ; and “Applied and Future Anthropologies.” Each part introduces the articles therein and provides probing questions per article for student response. This outstanding collection perfectly complements Luke Eric Lassiter’s “Invitation to Anthropology” textbook but has wide appeal for all introductory cultural anthropology courses.

Colleen E. Boyd is associate professor of anthropology at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Luke Eric Lassiter is director of the graduate humanities program and professor of humanities and anthropology at Marshall University Graduate College, South Charleston, West Virginia. He is the author of “Invitation to Anthropology” and co-editor of “The Other Side of Middletown”, among other works.