Tag: Anthropology

Free Download 30-Second Anthropology: The 50 most important ideas in the study of being human, each explained in half a minute (30 Second) by Simon Underdown
English | March 1st, 2018 | ISBN: 1782409696 | 160 pages | True EPUB | 23.51 MB
Who are we? What is it about our species that sets us apart from every other living creature, past and present, on this planet? These are perennially compelling questions about human evolution and development that continue to cudgel the best brains on earth. Anthropology seeks to understand the roots of our common humanity, the diversity of cultures and world-views, and the organisation of social relations and practices. If you only have 30 seconds, that is enough time – by reading this book – to meet the ancestors and master the basic ideas, personalities, controversies and future directions of the study of humankind.

Free Download Chad T. Morris, "The Applied Anthropology of Obesity: Prevention, Intervention, and Identity"
English | ISBN: 1498512631 | 2015 | 254 pages | EPUB | 2 MB
The increasing global prevalence of obesity and nutrition-based non-communicable disease has many causes, including food availability; social norms as evidenced in local foodways; genetic predisposition; economic circumstance; cultural variation in norms surrounding body composition; and policies affecting production, distribution, and consumption of food locally and globally. The Applied Anthropology of Obesity:Prevention, Intervention, and Identity advances understanding of the many cultural factors underlying increased global obesity prevalence. This collection of chapters showcase the value of anthropology’s holistic approach to human interaction by exploring how human identity associated with obesity/overweight is affected by cultural norms, policy decisions, and perceptions of cultural change. They also demonstrate best practices for the application of anthropological skillsets to develop culturally-appropriate nutritional behavior change across multiple levels of analysis, from local programming to policy decisions at local and national levels.

Free Download Cecilia Coale Van Hollen, "A Companion to the Anthropology of Reproductive Medicine and Technology "
English | ISBN: 1119845386 | 2025 | 560 pages | PDF | 5 MB
Provides fresh perspectives on the past, present and future-facing contributions of the anthropology of reproduction.

Free Download Geoffrey Dierckxsens, "Paul Ricoeur’s Moral Anthropology: Singularity, Responsibility, and Justice "
English | ISBN: 1498545203 | 2017 | 266 pages | EPUB, PDF | 387 KB + 2 MB
Paul Ricœur’s Moral Anthropology is a guide for readers who are interested in Paul Ricœur’s thoughts on morals in general, bringing together the different aspects of what Geoffrey Dierckxsens understands as Ricœur’s moral anthropology. This anthropology addresses the question what it means to be human, capable of participating in moral life. Dierckxsens argues that Ricœur shows that this participation implies being a self, living a singular lived existence with others and being responsible in institutions of justice. Through experiencing life one comes to learn taking moral decisions and the reasons for moral life.

Free Download Glynn Custred, "A History of Anthropology as a Holistic Science"
English | ISBN: 1498507638 | 2016 | 268 pages | EPUB | 635 KB
A History of Anthropology as a Holistic Science defends the holistic scientific approach by examining its history, which is in part a story of adventure, and its sound philosophical foundation. It shows that activism and the holistic scientific approach need not compete with one another. This book discusses how anthropology developed in the nineteenth century during what has been called the Second Scientific Revolution. It emerged in the United States in its holistic four field form from the confluence of four lines of inquiry: the British, the French, the German, and the American. As the discipline grew and became more specialized, a tendency of divergence set in that weakened its holistic appeal. Beginning in the 1960s a new movement arose within the discipline which called for abandoning science as anthropology’s mission in order to convert into an instrument of social change; a redefinition which weakens its effectiveness as a way of understanding humankind, and which threatens to discredit the discipline.

Free Download Steffen Köhn, "Mediating Mobility: Visual Anthropology in the Age of Migration"
English | 2016 | pages: 187 | ISBN: 0231178891, 0231178883 | PDF | 7,5 mb
Images have become an integral part of the political regulation of migration: they help produce categories of legality versus illegality, foster stereotypes, and mobilize political convictions. Yet how are we to understand the relationship between these images and the political in the discourse surrounding migration? How can we, as anthropologists, migration scholars, or documentary filmmakers visually represent people who are excluded from political representation? And how can such visual representations gain political momentum?

Free Download Anthropology through the Experience of the Physical Body
English | 2023 | ISBN: 9819957230 | 283 Pages | PDF EPUB (True) | 17 MB
This book seeks to break new ground, both empirically and conceptually, in examining changing understandings of the physical human body from a variety of anthropological perspectives. In doing so, it interrogates how the body has been and continues to be conceptualised, experienced and interacted with. After an introductory appraisal of recent approaches to understanding the body, the book provides empirically rich accounts from East and Southeast Asia of how cultural, environmental and social norms shape human physicality. The contributions are organised in four broad themes. Part I, ‘Body and Space’, offers two contrasting case studies from Malaysia, both of which examine gender norms associated with marriage and pregnancy, including the taboos associated with these rites of passage. Part II, ‘Imperfect Bodies: Communication and the Body as Media’, analyses two case studies-Deaf people in Japan and masked theatre performance in Bali, Indonesia, to reflect on changing attitudes towards disability, which reflect broader social norms and cultural beliefs about the nature of disability and its place in society. Part III, ‘The Body and Image’, provides a pair of case studies from Singapore, on male fans of the popular manga boys’ love genre and on ways that the Chinese zodiac system is determined from birth and continues to be spiritually embedded in the body of a Chinese individual through ritual practices. Part IV, ‘The Body as Container: Taming the Bodies?’, presents a single case study from Thailand of spirit possession among schoolchildren. Though wide-ranging, all the case studies posit that the body is a site of constant negotiation. The way the body is presented and the way it is seen are shaped by a complex array of social, cultural, political and ideational factors. Anthropology through the Experience of the Physical Body is a valuable interdisciplinary work for advanced students and researchers interested in representations of the body in East and Southeast Asia and for those with wider interests in the field of critical anthropology.

Free Download Matthew Engelke, "The Limits of Meaning: Case Studies in the Anthropology of Christianity"
English | 2006 | pages: 249 | ISBN: 1845451708, 184545507X | PDF | 1,9 mb
Too often, anthropological accounts of ritual leave readers with the impression that everything goes smoothly, that rituals are "meaningful events." But what happens when rituals fail, or when they seem "meaningless"? Drawing on research in the anthropology of Christianity from around the globe, the authors in this volume suggest that in order to analyze meaning productively, we need to consider its limits. This collection is a welcome new addition to the anthropology of religion, offering fresh debates on a classic topic and drawing attention to meaning in a way that other volumes have for key terms like "culture" and "fieldwork.

Free Download Sustaining Natures: An Environmental Anthropology Reader (Culture, Place, and Nature) edited by K. Sivaramakrishnan, Sarah R. Osterhoudt
English | July 25, 2023 | ISBN: 0295751444, 0295751452 | True EPUB/PDF | 400 pages | 22/31.5 MB
Environmental anthropology is at its best when firmly grounded in respectful and systematic ethnographic research and writing that spotlights uncommon perspectives on widely recognized issues confronting the world. Intentionally crafted for undergraduate course use in anthropology, geography, and environmental studies, Sustaining Natures showcases the best contemporary writing on nature and sustainability.

Free Download Stuart Kirsch, "Engaged Anthropology: Politics beyond the Text"
English | 2018 | ISBN: 0520297946, 0520297954 | EPUB | pages: 328 | 4.3 mb
Does anthropology have more to offer than just its texts? In this timely and remarkable book, Stuart Kirsch shows how anthropology can-and why it should-become more engaged with the problems of the world. Engaged Anthropology draws on the author’s experiences working with indigenous peoples fighting for their environment, land rights, and political sovereignty. Including both short interventions and collaborations spanning decades, it recounts interactions with lawyers and courts, nongovernmental organizations, scientific experts, and transnational corporations. This unflinchingly honest account addresses the unexamined "backstage" of engaged anthropology. Coming at a time when some question the viability of the discipline, the message of this powerful and original work is especially welcome, as it not only promotes a new way of doing anthropology, but also compellingly articulates a new rationale for why anthropology matters.