The Dictionary of Anthropology - Softcover

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Thomas Barfield is Professor and Chairman of the Anthropology Department at Boston University. He is the author of The Central Asian Arabs of Afganistan, The Perilous Frontier, and The Nomadic Alternative, as well as co-editor of Afghanistan: an Atlas of Indigenous Domestic Architecture.

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Over the past century anthropology has developed from an obscure discipline associated primarily with the study of exotic cultures into a comparative social science that has made fundamental contributions to the understanding of the world around us. Its holistic and cross-cultural perspective has produced a treasure trove of data and theory that has attracted researches and general readers alike. The Dictionary of Anthropology is designed to open this exciting discipline to a wide audience and serve as a standard reference guide to the field of social and cultural anthropology.

The Dictionary’s core consists of substantial analytical articles focusing on key anthropological concepts, theories, and methodologies. Drawing on contributions from some 125 distinguished anthropologists, it provides both state-of-the-art critiques of current issues in anthropology and key summary assessments of the discipline’s most important historical contributions to genera knowledge. Through its examination of the field’s significant ethnographic and thematic research, the Dictionary also provides the reader with clear, concise statements of central issues without privileging any particular theoretical approach.

The Dictionary of Anthropology will serve the needs of a broad range of readers. It contains definitional entries of technical terms designed to orient new students and scholars from other disciplines, but it is chiefly characterized by long articles complete with references and recommendations for further reading. It also includes critical assessments of the founders and twentieth-century leaders of the discipline. The bibliography of some 3,000 separate entries at the end of the volume will in itself be a valuable research tool.