Anthropology originated as the study of ‘primitive’ cultures – a now very loaded term. With the fall of Empire, anthropology became suspect and was torn by dissent from within. Did anthropology serve as a ‘handmaiden to colonialism’? Is it a ‘science’ created by racism to prove racism? Can it aid communication between cultures, or does it reinforce our differences?
Introducing Anthropology is a fascinating account of an uncertain human science seeking to transcend its unsavoury history.
Merryl Wyn Davies and Piero trace the evolution of the subject from its genesis in Ancient Greece to its varied forms in contemporary times, explaining the key concepts and methods, and presenting anthropologists such as Franz Boas, Bronislaw Malinowski, E.E. Evans-Pritchard, Margaret Mead and Claude Lévi-Strauss.