![]() |
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
|
Your cart is empty |
||
|
Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Anthropology
As a species, we are currently experiencing dramatic shifts in our lifestyle, family structure, health, and global contact. Evolutionary Anthropology provides a powerful theoretical framework to study such changes, revealing how current environments and legacies of past selection shape human diversity. This book is the first major review of the emerging field of Applied Evolutionary Anthropology bringing together the work of an international group of evolutionary scientists, addressing many of the major public health and social issues of this century. Through a series of case studies that span both rural and urban situations in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America, each chapter addresses topics such as natural resource management, health service delivery, population growth and the emergence of new family structures, dietary, and co-operative behaviours. The research presented identifies the great, largely untapped, potential that Applied Evolutionary Anthropology holds to guide the design, implementation and evaluation of effective social and public health policy. This book will be of interest to policy-makers and applied researchers, along with academics and students across the biological and social sciences.
Sabrina Ardizzoni's book is an in-depth analysis of Hakka women in tulou villages in Southeast China. Based on fieldwork, data acquired through local documents, diverse material and symbolic culture elements, this study adopts an original approach that includes historical-textual investigation and socio-anthropological enquiry. Having interviewed local Hakka women and participated in rural village events, public and private, in west Fujian's Hakka tulou area, the author provides a comprehensive overview of the historical threads and cultural processes that lead to the construction of the ideal Hakka woman, as well as an insightful analysis of the multifaceted Hakka society in which rural women reinvent their social subjectivity and negotiate their position between traditional constructs and modern dynamics.
A white American woman is raped by a black Panamanian labourer in 1946 in the Panama Canal Zone, and the aftermath affects labour relations in the Western hemisphere for the next two decades. And numerous nations use the African continent to exercise their colonial muscle and post war power, only to encounter the financial and military burdens that will exhaust and alienate their own citizenry half a world away. As Race, Ethnicity, and the Cold War reveals, during this dangerous era there were no longer any ""isolated incidents."" Like the butterfly flapping its wings and changing the weather on the other side of the globe, an instance of racial or ethnic hostility had ripple effects across a Cold War world of brinksmanship between bitter national rivals and ideological opponents.
Every time you consult a calendar or clock, other people are thinking for you. Most users of these tools only know how to interpret the representations of time these objects provide, not the logics behind the representations. Those logics were others' ideas. This book looks at how the objects we use to think about time shape our thoughts. Such objects empower us to think about time certain ways, but they also contain hidden assumptions about time that deflect our awareness away from the complicated rhythms of our lives and our world. Because time ties together so many aspects of our lives, this book is able to explore the nexus of objects, cognition, culture, and even biology, and to do so in relationship to
The very human need for religion and magic as supplements to scientific and technological knowledge is the subject of this work. In 1942 Hsu witnessed a cholera epidemic in a small rural settlement in Yunnan province, China, and found that, contrary to anthropological expectations, the Chinese responded to the crisis with a combination of conciliatory rituals and practical hygienic measures. More than thirty years later, he witnessed the elaborate ritualistic prepartions for another epidemic in the Shatin sub-division of Hong Kong and found the supernatural/empirical response to be virtually the same as in 1942. The author argues that, in spite of technological and intellectual sophistication, the human psychic need for magic and religion persists. He pursues this contention in a longitudinal analysis of this phenomenon in the South Seas, East Africa, and Indian and white America.
This exhaustive and complete discography of Indian music issued on microgroove discs and cassettes provides information on over 2,700 recordings of classical and semiclassical music of the Indian subcontinent. It covers the period from the early 1950s to the end of 1983 and also contains information on recordings from the early 1930s onward that were originally issued at 78 RPM and have been reissued on microgroove discs. The main text of the discography is divided into five sections: Hindustani Instrumental, Hindustani Vocal, Karnatic Instrumental, Karnatic Vocal, and Anthologies. Artists are listed alphabetically and brief biographical information is provided when possible. The recordings are indexed by Raga and Tala (the melody and the rhythm), thus allowing comparison between different recordings of the same piece. An instrumental index is included as are indexes to several styles of vocal performance.
Written by Jorge Gracia, one of the most influential thinkers of
Hispanic/Latino descent, this volume provides a superb introduction
to the philosophical, social, and political elements of
Hispanic/Latino identity. The book explores central historical and current debates
surrounding Hispanic/Latino culture, thought, and identity in the
United States, Spain, and Latin American countries. Gracia's
interdisciplinary approach is systematic and he uses philosophical
analysis along with the history of philosophy to clarify and
illustrate his provocative theses. This engaging and enlightening work is an indispensable tool for anyone interested in Hispanic/Latino studies, social policy, and the history of thought and culture.
Clothing the body is one of the most complicated acts of daily
existence. When a nun ponders red shoes, an architect knots his
bowtie, a lesbian laces her Doc Marten's, or a nude model disrobes,
each is engaging in a process of identity-making that is both
intensely personal and deeply social. In an increasingly material
world, negotiating dress codes is a nuanced art, informed by
shifting patterns of power and authority, play and performance, as
well as gender, sexuality, class, ethnicity and race.
Zilinskas and Balint and their contributors examine the divisions between minority groups and the scientific community, particularly in the area of medical and genetic research. Minorities have reasons to be skeptical of medical research in general and genetics research in particular. The sad history of the Tuskegee experiment, in which black men with syphilis were left untreated so that the course of the disease could be studied, undermined confidence in the ethics of medical researchers. More recently, publication of "The Bell Curve" reanimated controversy over purported genetic distinctions among the races that could have powerfully negative social implications. In contrast, as the essays make clear, the Human Genome Project, conducted in accordance with the highest ethical standards, has the potential to make dramatic positive contributions to the health of all human beings. Members of minority communities in particular--who statistically are at high risk of adverse health outcomes in the United States--have much to gain from innovative medical diagnostics and therapies that will result from the study of human genetics. Therefore, if we are to benefit fully from this new knowledge, it is vital that the distrust, skepticism, and misconceptions relating to genetics research be overcome. This is a provocative collection for scholars, students, researchers, and community leaders involved with minority and public health issues.
A broad understanding of bone and tooth microstructure is necessary for constructing the biological profile of an individual or individuals within a population. Bone Histology: An Anthropological Perspective brings together authors with extensive experience and expertise in various aspects of hard tissue histology to provide a comprehensive discussion of the application of methods, current theories, and future directions in hard tissue research related to anthropological questions. Topics discussed include:
In most cases, the physical remains of humans available to bioarchaeologists, paleopathologists, and paleontologists are limited to skeletal material. Fortunately, these hard tissues are a storehouse of information about biological processes experienced during the life of an individual. This volume provides an overview of the current state of research and potential applications in anthropology and other fields that employ a histological approach to the study of hard tissues.
The most exhaustive book on forensic dentistry, the fourth edition of this volume covers the latest advances in the field, including regulations affecting forensic dental practice and procedures in light of the Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act, updated ABFO guidelines, and new digital radiographic and photographic developments. The book also discusses computer-assisted record management, multiple fatality incident preparedness, and Disaster Mortuary Operation Response Team in a post-9/11, tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina world.
Suicide among African Americans occurs at about half the rate with which it occurs among white Americans. Why is the black rate of suicide so much lower, particularly when one considers the effects of racism and other socio-economic factors on African Americans? One answer that has been offered is that churches within the African-American community have a greater influence than among white Americans and that they provide amelioration of social forces that would otherwise lead to suicide. To date no other book has provided an in-depth ethnographic study of the buffering effect of the black church against suicide. Findings from Early's study indicate that there is a consensus within the black community in terms of its attitudes and beliefs toward suicide. Early concludes that suicide is alien to underlying African-American belief systems and a complete denial of what it means to be black. This important study will be invaluable to sociologists and others studying contemporary race relations and social problems.
In examining the intellectual history in contemporary South Africa, Eze engages with the emergence of ubuntu as one discourse that has become a mirror and aftermath of South Africa’s overall historical narrative. This book interrogates a triple socio-political representation of ubuntu as a displacement narrative for South Africa’s colonial consciousness; as offering a new national imaginary through its inclusive consciousness, in which different, competing, and often antagonistic memories and histories are accommodated; and as offering a historicity in which the past is transformed as a symbol of hope for the present and the future. This book offers a model for African intellectual history indignant to polemics but constitutive of creative historicism and healthy humanism.
Exploring Twins presents an analysis of twinship considered as a specifically social phenomenon. Drawing upon a wide range of interdisciplinary, historical and cross-cultural data, Dr Stewart argues that in both traditional and modern societies, twinship represents a recurrent anomaly which calls into question the assumptions around which different types of society are organized. Part One identifies and analyses the fascinating range of cultural and disciplinary approaches to the interpretation of twinship, while Part Two considers the possibilities for a distinctively social analysis of twinship.
Born in the 1960s, the middle-class Biracial Americans of this study are part of a transitional cohort between the hidden biracial generations of the past and the visible blended generations of the future. As individuals, they have variously dealt with their ambiguous status in American society; as a generation, they share common existential realities in relation to White culture. During the last decade of the 20th century public awareness of mixed race Americans increased significantly, in no small part because there has been a substantial increase in interracial marriages and offspring since 1960. This study, based on ethnographic interviews, provides an historical overview of the study of Biracial Americans in the social sciences, a sociological profile of project participants, sociocultural discussions of family and race as well as racial identity choices, and examinations of racial realities in adult lives and of recurrent systemic and personal life themes. The textual part of the book demonstrates the diversity of perception and experience regarding race and identity of these biracial young adults. The Epilogue not only reviews major findings pertaining to this transitional generation of Biracial Americans but discusses biraciality and the deconstruction of race in contemporary American society. An extensive bibliography of popular and scholarly sources concludes the book.
Settler colonialism is a global and transnational phenomenon, and as much a thing of the present as a thing of the past. In this book, Lorenzo Veracini explores the settler colonial 'situation' and explains how there is no such thing as neo-settler colonialism or post-settler colonialism because settler colonialism is a resilient formation that rarely ends. Not all migrants are settlers: settlers come to stay, and are founders of political orders who carry with them a distinct sovereign capacity. And settler colonialism is not colonialism: settlers want Indigenous people to vanish (but can make use of their labour before they are made to disappear). Sometimes settler colonial forms operate within colonial ones, sometimes they subvert them, sometimes they replace them. But even if colonialism and settler colonialism interpenetrate and overlap, they remain separate as they co-define each other.
First runner-up for the British-Kuwait Friendship Society Book Prize in Middle Eastern Studies 2015. In ancient Egypt, wrapping sacred objects, including mummified bodies, in layers of cloth was a ritual that lay at the core of Egyptian society. Yet in the modern world, attention has focused instead on unwrapping all the careful arrangements of linen textiles the Egyptians had put in place. This book breaks new ground by looking at the significance of textile wrappings in ancient Egypt, and at how their unwrapping has shaped the way we think about the Egyptian past. Wrapping mummified bodies and divine statues in linen reflected the cultural values attached to this textile, with implications for understanding gender, materiality and hierarchy in Egyptian society. Unwrapping mummies and statues similarly reflects the values attached to Egyptian antiquities in the West, where the colonial legacies of archaeology, Egyptology and racial science still influence how Egypt appears in museums and the press. From the tomb of Tutankhamun to the Arab Spring, Unwrapping Ancient Egypt raises critical questions about the deep-seated fascination with this culture - and what that fascination says about our own.
This open access book provides an analysis of human actors and their capacity to explore and conceptualise their own agency by being curious, gathering knowledge, and shaping identities in their travel reflections on Asia. Thus, the actors open windows across time to present a profound overview of diverse descriptions and constructions of Asia. It is demonstrated that international and transnational history contributes to and benefits from analyses of national and local contexts that in turn enrich our understanding of transcultural encounters and experiences across time. The book proposes an actor-centred contextual approach to travel writing to recount meaningful constructions of Asia's physical, political and spiritual landscapes. It offers comparative reflections on the patterns of encounter across Eurasia, where from the late medieval period an idea of civilisation was transculturally shared yet also constantly questioned and reframed. Tailored for academic and public discussions alike, this volume will be invaluable for both scholars of Global History and interested audiences to stimulate further discussions on the nature of global encounters in Asia.
This unique text/reference reviews the key principles and techniques in conceptual modelling which are of relevance to specialists in the field of cultural heritage. Information modelling tasks are a vital aspect of work and study in such disciplines as archaeology, anthropology, history, and architecture. Yet the concepts and methods behind information modelling are rarely covered by the training in cultural heritage-related fields. With the increasing popularity of the digital humanities, and the rapidly growing need to manage large and complex datasets, the importance of information modelling in cultural heritage is greater than ever before. To address this need, this book serves in the place of a course on software engineering, assuming no previous knowledge of the field. Topics and features: Presents a general philosophical introduction to conceptual modelling Introduces the basics of conceptual modelling, using the ConML language as an infrastructure Reviews advanced modelling techniques relating to issues of vagueness, temporality and subjectivity, in addition to such topics as metainformation and feature redefinition Proposes an ontology for cultural heritage supported by the Cultural Heritage Abstract Reference Model (CHARM), to enable the easy construction of conceptual models Describes various usage scenarios and applications of cultural heritage modelling, offering practical tips on how to use different techniques to solve real-world problems This interdisciplinary work is an essential primer for tutors and students (at both undergraduate and graduate level) in any area related to cultural heritage, including archaeology, anthropology, art, history, architecture, or literature. Cultural heritage managers, researchers, and professionals will also find this to be a valuable reference, as will anyone involved in database design, data management, or the conceptualization of cultural heritage in general. Dr. Cesar Gonzalez-Perez is a Staff Scientist at the Institute of Heritage Sciences (Incipit), within the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Focussing ethnographically on private-sector maternity care in South Africa, Privileges of Birth looks at the ways healthcare and childbirth are shaped by South Africa's racialised history. Birth is one of the most medicalised aspects of the lifecycle across all sectors of society, and there is deep division between what the privileged can afford compared with the rest of the population. Examining the ethics of care in midwife-attended birth, the author situates the argument in the context of a growing literature on care in anthropological and feminist scholarship, offering a unique account of birthing care in the context of elite care services. |
You may like...
The Law of EU External Relations…
Pieter Jan Kuijper, Jan Wouters, …
Hardcover
R6,258
Discovery Miles 62 580
Bloom - The secrets of growing flowering…
Lisa Eldred Steinkopf
Hardcover
Public-Key Cryptography and…
Kazimierz Alster, Jerzy Urbanowicz, …
Hardcover
R5,115
Discovery Miles 51 150
|