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The New Invitation to Anthropology

Fifth Edition

Luke Eric Lassiter; Eric I. Karchmer and Dana E. Powell

Born within and against the violence of European colonial conquest, anthropology has aspired to understand the diversity of human experience in ethical and transformative ways. The New Invitation to Anthropology is a fresh and accessible text that takes students to the heart of the discipline and reveals the ongoing relevance of anthropology today.

The New Invitation to Anthropology, Fifth Edition has an intimate touch that invites students in and helps them understand the historical roots of anthropology and its connection to recent social and political issues. Part I covers the history of the discipline, the emergence of the concept of culture, and ethnographic field methods in relation to European imperialism and discourses on race. Part II illustrates how the concept of culture shaped specific domains of anthropological study, including ecological adaptation, social class, gender, family, marriage, religion, and medicine.As a timely and engaging “non-textbook,” The New Invitation to Anthropology explores anthropological perspectives on real-world problems, helping students think like anthropologists and become better citizens of the world.

New To This Edition

  • Significantly revised Chapter 1, “The Origins of North American Anthropology,” demonstrates how modern anthropology emerged out of 19th century theories of race and social evolutionism and develops critical understandings of modern forms of racism
  • New sections on social class and globalization in Chapter 4 offer insights into the complexities of modern global problems like climate change
  • New elaborations of intersectionality in Chapter 5, “Sex, Gender, and Inequality” reinforces discussions of gender-based inequality
  • Chapter 7 on religious experience now incorporates healing and medicine to expand a framework of studying belief and experience

  • Details
  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • TOC
  • TOC
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Features
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 276 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½
978-1-4422-7714-4 • Hardback • October 2023 • $135.00 • (£104.00)
978-1-4422-7715-1 • Paperback • October 2023 • $45.00 • (£35.00)
Subjects: Social Science / Anthropology / General, Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural

Luke Eric Lassiter is professor of humanities and anthropology and director of the Graduate Humanities Program at Marshall University, where he is also a Distinguished John Deaver Drinko Academy Fellow. His books include The Other Side of Middletown, The Chicago Guide to Collaborative Ethnography, Doing Ethnography Today, and I’m Afraid of that Water: A Collaborative Ethnography of a West Virginia Water Crisis.

Eric I. Karchmer is a visiting assistant professor at China Medical University in Taichung, Taiwan. He is also a trained practitioner of Chinese medicine, with more than 20 years of clinical experience. He is the author of Prescriptions for Virtuosity: The Postcolonial Struggle of Chinese Medicine.

Dana E. Powell is associate professor in the Graduate Institute of Humanities in Medicine, at Taipei Medical University (Taiwan). She is the author of Landscapes of Power: Politics of Energy in the Navajo Nation and has been a recipient of anthropological fellowships from the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the National Science Foundation, Cornell Univ. Society for the Humanities, and the Taiwanese Ministry of Science and Technology.

Preface

PART I: ANTHROPOLOGY, CULTURE, AND ETHNOGRAPHY

  1. The Origins of North American Anthropology: Colonialism, Change, and the Critique of Race

Storytelling

The Setting: European Conquest of the Americas and the World

Stasis and Change in European Thought

Darwin and the Question of Change

Natural Selection: The Story of the Peppered Moths

Social Evolution and the Interpretation of “Race”

Social Evolutionism and Social Darwinism

The Story of Franz Boas and the Emergence of the Concept of Culture

The Story’s Lesson: A Call for Critical Engagement

  1. Anthropology and Culture

The Subfields of Anthropology

Defining Culture

Implications of the Concept of Culture

Studying Culture – Holism and Comparativism

Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativity

Summing Up: Anthropological Perspectives on Culture

  1. Ethnography

Ethnography Across the Atlantic: British Social Anthropology and Bronislaw Malinowski

Ethnography as Field Method: On Participant Observation

Ethnography as a Genre of Literature Today: On the Written Ethnography

Ethnography’s Lesson: What’s It Good For?

PART II: KEY THEMES IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

  1. Cultural Adaptation and Globalization: The Roots of our World System

In the Beginning: Adaptation, Culture, and Human Subsistence

Gathering, Hunting, and Moving: On Foraging

The Domestication of Plants and Animals

Agriculture and the Emergence of the State

Agricultural Trends and the Emergence of Social Class

Agriculture and World System Theory

Lessons for the Anthropocene

Conclusion

  1. Sex, Gender, and Inequality: Cross-Cultural Perspectives

Sex and Gender: Beyond the Binary

Gender, Inequality, and Power

Intersectionality

Lessons From the Anthropology of Gender

  1. Works, Success, and Kids: On Marriage, Family, and Kinship

Introducing Family: On Kinship

The Incest Taboo, Exogamy, and Endogamy

Defining Marriage Cross-Culturally

What Marriage Creates and Maintains: More on Marriage as a Social Union

Marriage, Family, and Kinship: Lessons for Contemporary Families

  1. Beyond Universal Truth: An Anthropological Approaches to Religion, Healing, and Knowledge

Knowledge and Belief

New Horizons in the Study of Illness

Towards an Anthropology of Knowledge

Every revised edition of Invitation to Anthropology recasts an excellent textbook into an even better resource. This new edition preserves the readable style of the past four versions while adding updated content, provocative discussion questions, and excellent teaching resources. Many of the text boxes, graphics, and other additions could easily serve as the basis for entire class periods of instruction to enhance students’ understanding of each chapter.


— Gregory Hansen, Arkansas State University


Keeping its clear and accessible writing style, The New Invitation to Anthropology continues to be the most pedagogically useful introductory text I have ever found. I cannot overemphasize how effective it is to teach its deep concepts, relying on the story-driven approach of this remarkable book.


— Anita Carrasco, Luther College


  • Concise, engaging format is easy for students to consume and retain without sacrificing rigor
  • Bold-faced key terms and glossary build students’ vocabulary for discussing key concepts and methodologies
  • “Anthropology Here and Now” boxes emphasize the relevance of anthropology today
  • Brief histories of anthropology throughout enable students to situate concepts in a historical context before tying them to today’s issues
  • Race, class, and gender frameworks help students think critically and holistically about how issues of social justice evolve over time
  • Emphasizes key concepts, methods, and applications of cultural anthropology to expand student’s ability to think anthropologically



The New Invitation to Anthropology

Fifth Edition

Cover Image
Hardback
Paperback
Summary
Summary
  • Born within and against the violence of European colonial conquest, anthropology has aspired to understand the diversity of human experience in ethical and transformative ways. The New Invitation to Anthropology is a fresh and accessible text that takes students to the heart of the discipline and reveals the ongoing relevance of anthropology today.

    The New Invitation to Anthropology, Fifth Edition has an intimate touch that invites students in and helps them understand the historical roots of anthropology and its connection to recent social and political issues. Part I covers the history of the discipline, the emergence of the concept of culture, and ethnographic field methods in relation to European imperialism and discourses on race. Part II illustrates how the concept of culture shaped specific domains of anthropological study, including ecological adaptation, social class, gender, family, marriage, religion, and medicine.As a timely and engaging “non-textbook,” The New Invitation to Anthropology explores anthropological perspectives on real-world problems, helping students think like anthropologists and become better citizens of the world.

    New To This Edition

    • Significantly revised Chapter 1, “The Origins of North American Anthropology,” demonstrates how modern anthropology emerged out of 19th century theories of race and social evolutionism and develops critical understandings of modern forms of racism
    • New sections on social class and globalization in Chapter 4 offer insights into the complexities of modern global problems like climate change
    • New elaborations of intersectionality in Chapter 5, “Sex, Gender, and Inequality” reinforces discussions of gender-based inequality
    • Chapter 7 on religious experience now incorporates healing and medicine to expand a framework of studying belief and experience

Details
Details
  • Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
    Pages: 276 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½
    978-1-4422-7714-4 • Hardback • October 2023 • $135.00 • (£104.00)
    978-1-4422-7715-1 • Paperback • October 2023 • $45.00 • (£35.00)
    Subjects: Social Science / Anthropology / General, Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural
Author
Author
  • Luke Eric Lassiter is professor of humanities and anthropology and director of the Graduate Humanities Program at Marshall University, where he is also a Distinguished John Deaver Drinko Academy Fellow. His books include The Other Side of Middletown, The Chicago Guide to Collaborative Ethnography, Doing Ethnography Today, and I’m Afraid of that Water: A Collaborative Ethnography of a West Virginia Water Crisis.

    Eric I. Karchmer is a visiting assistant professor at China Medical University in Taichung, Taiwan. He is also a trained practitioner of Chinese medicine, with more than 20 years of clinical experience. He is the author of Prescriptions for Virtuosity: The Postcolonial Struggle of Chinese Medicine.

    Dana E. Powell is associate professor in the Graduate Institute of Humanities in Medicine, at Taipei Medical University (Taiwan). She is the author of Landscapes of Power: Politics of Energy in the Navajo Nation and has been a recipient of anthropological fellowships from the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the National Science Foundation, Cornell Univ. Society for the Humanities, and the Taiwanese Ministry of Science and Technology.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Preface

    PART I: ANTHROPOLOGY, CULTURE, AND ETHNOGRAPHY

    1. The Origins of North American Anthropology: Colonialism, Change, and the Critique of Race

    Storytelling

    The Setting: European Conquest of the Americas and the World

    Stasis and Change in European Thought

    Darwin and the Question of Change

    Natural Selection: The Story of the Peppered Moths

    Social Evolution and the Interpretation of “Race”

    Social Evolutionism and Social Darwinism

    The Story of Franz Boas and the Emergence of the Concept of Culture

    The Story’s Lesson: A Call for Critical Engagement

    1. Anthropology and Culture

    The Subfields of Anthropology

    Defining Culture

    Implications of the Concept of Culture

    Studying Culture – Holism and Comparativism

    Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativity

    Summing Up: Anthropological Perspectives on Culture

    1. Ethnography

    Ethnography Across the Atlantic: British Social Anthropology and Bronislaw Malinowski

    Ethnography as Field Method: On Participant Observation

    Ethnography as a Genre of Literature Today: On the Written Ethnography

    Ethnography’s Lesson: What’s It Good For?

    PART II: KEY THEMES IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

    1. Cultural Adaptation and Globalization: The Roots of our World System

    In the Beginning: Adaptation, Culture, and Human Subsistence

    Gathering, Hunting, and Moving: On Foraging

    The Domestication of Plants and Animals

    Agriculture and the Emergence of the State

    Agricultural Trends and the Emergence of Social Class

    Agriculture and World System Theory

    Lessons for the Anthropocene

    Conclusion

    1. Sex, Gender, and Inequality: Cross-Cultural Perspectives

    Sex and Gender: Beyond the Binary

    Gender, Inequality, and Power

    Intersectionality

    Lessons From the Anthropology of Gender

    1. Works, Success, and Kids: On Marriage, Family, and Kinship

    Introducing Family: On Kinship

    The Incest Taboo, Exogamy, and Endogamy

    Defining Marriage Cross-Culturally

    What Marriage Creates and Maintains: More on Marriage as a Social Union

    Marriage, Family, and Kinship: Lessons for Contemporary Families

    1. Beyond Universal Truth: An Anthropological Approaches to Religion, Healing, and Knowledge

    Knowledge and Belief

    New Horizons in the Study of Illness

    Towards an Anthropology of Knowledge

Reviews
Reviews
  • Every revised edition of Invitation to Anthropology recasts an excellent textbook into an even better resource. This new edition preserves the readable style of the past four versions while adding updated content, provocative discussion questions, and excellent teaching resources. Many of the text boxes, graphics, and other additions could easily serve as the basis for entire class periods of instruction to enhance students’ understanding of each chapter.


    — Gregory Hansen, Arkansas State University


    Keeping its clear and accessible writing style, The New Invitation to Anthropology continues to be the most pedagogically useful introductory text I have ever found. I cannot overemphasize how effective it is to teach its deep concepts, relying on the story-driven approach of this remarkable book.


    — Anita Carrasco, Luther College


Features
Features
    • Concise, engaging format is easy for students to consume and retain without sacrificing rigor
    • Bold-faced key terms and glossary build students’ vocabulary for discussing key concepts and methodologies
    • “Anthropology Here and Now” boxes emphasize the relevance of anthropology today
    • Brief histories of anthropology throughout enable students to situate concepts in a historical context before tying them to today’s issues
    • Race, class, and gender frameworks help students think critically and holistically about how issues of social justice evolve over time
    • Emphasizes key concepts, methods, and applications of cultural anthropology to expand student’s ability to think anthropologically



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