What gives artefacts their power and beauty? This ethnographic study of the decorated long yams made by the Nyamikum Abelam in Papua New Guinea examines how these artefacts acquire their specific properties through processes that mobilise and recruit diverse entities, substances and domains. All come together to form the 'finished product' that is displayed, representing what could be an indigenous form of non-verbal 'sociology'. Engaging with several contemporary anthropological topics (material culture, techniques, arts, aesthetics, rituals, botany, cosmology, Melanesian ethnography), the text also discusses in depth the complex position of the study of 'technology' within anthropology.

Ludovic Coupaye is a Lecturer in Material Culture Studies at the Department of Anthropology of University College London, a member of the Centre de Recherche et de Documentation sur l'Oceanie (CREDO, Marseille), and teaches anthropology of Pacific Arts at the Ecole du Louvre in Paris. He has been a teaching fellow at the Sainsbury Research Unit (UEA) and assistant curator at the Musee du quai Branly in Paris.

Art history has enriched the study of material culture as a scholarly field. This interdisciplinary volume enhances this literature through the contributors' engagement with gender as the conceptual locus of analysis in terms of femininity, masculinity, and the spaces in between. Collectively, these essays by art historians and museum professionals argue for a more complex understanding of the relationship between objects and subjects in gendered terms. The objects under consideration range from the quotidian to the exotic, including beds, guns, fans, needle paintings, prints, drawings, mantillas, almanacs, reticules, silver punch bowls, and collage. These material goods may have been intended to enforce and affirm gendered norms, however as the essays demonstrate, their use by subjects frequently put normative formations of gender into question, revealing the impossibility of permanently fixing gender in relation to material goods, concepts, or bodies. This book will appeal to art historians, museum professionals, women's and gender studies specialists, students, and all those interested in the history of objects in everyday life.

Product information not available.

The volume at hand publishes the proceedings of the conference "Develop mental Systems, Competition, and Cooperation in Sociobiology and Eco nomics," a "Studies in Economic Ethics and Philosophy (SEEP)-Conference" held at Marienrode Monastery, Hildesheim-Marienrode near Hannover, Ger many, on 24-28 April 1996. This "Studies in Economic Ethics and Philoso phy (SEEP)-Conference" was made possible by the support of the Stiftung Forschungsinstitut fUr Philosophie Hannover Foundation Hannover Insti tute of Philosophical Research. The editor wishes to thank his co-workers at the Forschungsinstitut fUr Philosophie Hannover for their assistance in organizing the conference at Ma rienrode and Anna Maria Hauk M. A. and Bettina Lohnert M. A. for their as sistance in preparing the computerized version of this book. A special word of gratitude is due the Stiftung Forschungsinstitut fOr Phi losophie Hannover whose financial support made the conference in 1996 pos sible. Hannover, September 1998 P. K. Contents Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V Sociobiology, Theory of Evolution, and Bioeconomics Introduction PETER KOSLOWSKI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Part I Neo-Darwinian Synthesis, Sociobiology, and the Economy of Nature Chapter 1 Darwinian Monism: The Economy of Nature MICHAEL T. GHISELIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Chapter 2 Coercion TIM CLUTION-BROCK and GEOFF A. PARKER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Chapter 3 Does the Second Law of Thermodynamics Refute the Neo-Darwinian Synthesis? BRUCE H. WEBER and DAVID 1. DEPEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 CONTENTS Partll Natural Selection and Developmental Systems: Redrawing the Boundaries Between Genetic and Non-Genetic Factors of Evolution Chapter 4 Evolutionary and Developmental Formation: Politics of the Boundary SUSAN OyAMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ."

Reviews of Not Saussure and The Explicit Animal: Not Saussure - 'I greatly enjoyed it...' - Bernard Bergonzi 'The Explicit Animal - '...his books are genuine contributions to professional debate...' - Stephen R.L. Clarke, Times Literary Supplement;Newton's Sleep examines the complementary roles of science and art in human life. Science has been criticised for being at best useful but spiritually derelict, and art for attempting to answer the spiritual needs of humankind while ignoring the material needs of millions who live in want. Newton's Sleep deals with the charges that science is spiritually empty and that art fails in its civilising mission by relating these aspects of human culture to the physical and metaphysical hungers of an explicit animal who lives in both the Kingdom of Means and the Kingdom of Ends. 'Tallis can, and frequently does, write extremely well. He also writes with considerable passion...Tallis...is perhaps best seen as an exceptionally interesting and broad-minded heir to Huxley, preaching the cause of the Church Scientific...' Richard Webster

Across Africa, funerals and events remembering the dead have become larger and even more numerous over the years. Whereas in the West death is normally a private and family affair, in Africa funerals are often the central life cycle event, unparalleled in cost and importance, for which families harness vast amounts of resources to host lavish events for multitudes of people with ramifications well beyond the event. Though officials may try to regulate them, the popularity of these events often makes such efforts fruitless, and the elites themselves spend tremendously on funerals. This volume brings together scholars who have conducted research on funerary events across sub-Saharan Africa. The contributions offer an in-depth understanding of the broad changes and underlying causes in African societies over the years, such as changes in religious beliefs, social structure, urbanization, and technological changes and health.

From medieval times until today Germany has been a cocktail of very different peoples and cultural groups. The components of the 'cocktail' have changed, but not Germany's character as such. The many cultural divides have often led to conflict, once even to genocide, but surprisingly often cooperation, or at least peaceful coexistence, has been the characteristic feature. Against the background of a graphic historical survey the author analyzes the factors which have made cooperation possible, or conversely, have produced conflicts.

From its discovery in the Columbia River shallows three years ago, reporter Roger Downey has chronicled the epic adventures of the skeleton called "Kennewick Man": first as pretext for a media feeding-frenzy, then as centerpiece of a legal circus pitting celebrated scientists against Native Americans, the Corps of Engineers, and the Clinton White House, finally, at the long last, as object of rational scientist study. The saga of Kennewick Man offers abundant opportunity to explore todays rapidly changing scientific theories about how the Americans first came to be settled, and by whom. But it also casts light on the divisions within the fields of anthropology and archaeology concerning the role of politics and race in the pursuit of scientific goals, what constitutes ethical procedure in dealing with ancient remains, and the very purpose and direction of the scientific enterprise itself.

This volume is the product of an international workshop on Women and Mediation, organized in Leiden in 1988 by the Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (KITLV) and the Werkgroep Indonesische Vrouwenstudies (WIVS), a Dutch interdisciplinary study group on Indonesian women. The book contains a selection of fourteen contributions-sociological, anthropological, and historical-ranging geographically 'from Sabang to Merauke' from the Toba Batak (North Sumatra) to the Dani (Irian Jaya). Loosely centred around the concept of mediation, many of the articles include new data derived from archival research and fieldwork.

Korean Americans are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States. Although they share many similar cultural characteristics with other Asian Americans, the Korean Americans are unique in terms of their strong ethnic attachment, extensive participation in Christian churches, heavy involvement in self-employed small businesses, wide geographic dispersion in settlement, and the emergence of the 1.5 generation phenomenon. This book answers the following questions for the student or interested reader: * Who are the Korean people? * Why did they come to the United States? * How did they adapt to their new country? * How are they received by the majority of Americans? * What are their accomplishments, problems, and contributions to American society? Other special features include: * An extensive coverage on the ethnic background (history, language, religion, customs, and other cultural heritage) of Korean Americans. * Current statistical data on Korean immigration to the United States. * A comprehensive analysis of socioeconomic characteristics of Korean Americans as compared with those of other minority groups. * A succinct analysis of the unique characteristics of Korean Americans. * Effective use of personal narratives. In 1970 there were about 70,000 Korean Americans-the number grew tenfold to about 790,000 in 1990. The Korean American population is now estimated at well over a million, and demographic projections indicate that the number will reach about three million by the year 2030. Korean Americans are thus among the new groups of Americans to become another integral part of the American history of cultural pluralism and ethnic diversity. Examined are the most significant areas of Korean American's adaptation-economic adjustment, sociocultural adaptation, family life, ethnic associations, intergroup relations, and psychological adjustment. In each area of adaptation, positive attainment as well as the problems of adjustment are analyzed in light of current theories and empirical research. The book concludes with a discussion of the unique characteristics of Korean Americans and their impact on society.

This volume examines the creation of forms of individual and group identity in Taiwan, the relationship between these forms of identity, and patterns of Taiwanese religion, politics, and culture. The contributors explore the Taiwanese sense of self, attempting to discern how Taiwanese identify themselves as individuals and as collectivities. Ranging from the local to the national level and within the larger Chinese cultural and religious universe, these essays explore the complex nature of identity/role and the processes of identity formation which have shaped Taiwan's multi-leveled past and its many faceted present.

We are nothing in an absolute sense. We are only what we have been-more exactly, what we remember we were. So begins the latest book by one of Europe's most influential modern sociologists, Franco Ferrarotti. In The Temptation to Forget, Ferrarotti examines how many in the waning years of the 20th century are attempting to forget or reinvent history to serve the purposes of ethnic, racial, or religious separation. Ferrarotti focuses on anti-Semitism and its re-emergence among the Skinheads of the 1980s to draw parallels to how the Holocaust has been reinterpreted/forgotten, and to analyze the implications of this for relations with other ethnic, racial, and religious minorities. Ethnic cleansing may be a new term, but, as Ferrarotti illustrates, it has a long heritage in thought and action. This book will make for provocative reading among professional sociologists and students of contemporary social issues.

This supplement focuses on the NBA with particular reference to pay and performance. In-depth analyses of positional pay variations, player negotiations, supply and demand and econometric models of pay and performance seek to give a much clearer picture of why, how and when pay is awarded in the sports industry and particularly in the NBA. The volume concludes with a retrospective of the 1995 All-Star Players.

How far back can you trace your family tree? Most people cannot go beyond their great-great-grandparents. The oldest written records recount only our most recent past. The farther back in time we go, the fewer the surviving traces. How can we know about the lives of our ancestors who lived 30,000 - or 300,000 - or 3 million years ago? In The Extraordinary Story of Human Origins, Piero and Alberto Angela address the many difficulties and challenges in assembling a truly complete picture of human evolution. In tracing our origins, different "documents" and "evidence" must be used: rock sediments, footprints, and fossils that were petrified in the folds of the earth over the course of millennia but have become the object of scientific study only in recent decades. To piece together the intriguing puzzle of human origins it is necessary to study all clues that are made available by multidisciplinary research, including paleontology, bio-chemistry, geology, genetics, physics, and climatology. Like so many Sherlock Holmeses, researchers seek all possible clues and analyze them meticulously in hopes of being able to reconstruct the past. Just as a cigarette butt, a hair, or a button may provide the key to identifying the "culprit" in a detective story, so can the layer of a fossil, the way a rock has been chipped, or the detail of a joint offer important information on the life, appearance, and behavior of our ancestors. These pieces are few and fragmentary, ranging from the footprints left in volcanic ash 3.7 million years ago by hominids who walked exactly as we do, to a "Y" pattern on molars and mitochondrial DNA. But they all provide information on the diet, diseases, hunting techniques, and art of Australopithecus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, the Neanderthal, and the first Homo sapiens sapiens. Written in an accessible but authoritative style, this study includes many lively reconstructions of the everyday life of our earliest ancestors based on the most reliable data. The Extraordinary Story of Human Origins makes available to a wide audience a unique look inside the exciting world of research into the study of the beginnings of human life on earth.

Precarious office friendships and email romance; delicate status politics; multiple femininities and masculinities; changing employment practices and career pathways; temporal and spatial practices of regulation, detection and slipping free - these analytical themes comprise the core of Tomoko Kurihara's ethnography, "Japanese Corporate Transition in Time and Space." A skillful analysis of the subtleties of language and embodiment discloses the various knowledges and practices that reinforce and subvert ideology and culture within the workplace community. This fieldstudy brings the work of continental theorists Mikhail Bakhtin, Pierre Bourdieu, and Michel de Certeau into conversation with the anthropology of Japan. It is a significant contribution to the new specialist areas in anthropology, of organizations, and of management practices.

Crude Domination is an innovative and important book about a critical topic - oil. While there have been numerous works about petroleum from 'experience-far' perspectives, there have been relatively few that have turned the 'experience-near' ethnographic gaze of anthropology on the topic. Crude Domination does just this among more peoples and more places than any other volume. Its chapters investigate nuances of culture, politics and economics in Africa, Latin America, and Eurasia as they pertain to petroleum. They wrestle with the key questions vexing scholars and practitioners alike: problems of the economic blight of the resource curse, underdevelopment, democracy, violence and war. Additionally they address topics that may initially appear insignificant - such as child witches and lionmen, fighting for oil when there is no oil, reindeer nomadism, community TV - but which turn out on closer scrutiny to be vital for explaining conflict and transformation in petro-states. Based upon these rich, new worlds of information, the text formulates a novel, domination approach to the social analysis of oil.

This book studies the cheap printed literature which was read in eighteenth and nineteenth century Ireland and the cultures of its audience. It takes an interdisciplinary approach to a little-known topic, pursuing comparisons with other regions such as Brittany and Scotland. By addressing questions such as language shift and the unique social configuration of Ireland in this period, it adds a new dimension to the growing body of studies of popular culture in Europe.

This project is an attempt to bring together the many fragments of history concerning the Yoruba religious community and their rise to prominence in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, from the mid-nineteenth to the late-twentieth centuries.

One of the most influential anthropological works of the last two decades, Alfred Gell's Art and Agency is a provocative and ambitious work that both challenged and reshaped anthropological understandings of art, agency, creativity and the social. It has become a touchstone in contemporary artifact-based scholarship. This volume brings together leading anthropologists, archaeologists, art historians and other scholars into an interdisciplinary dialogue with Art and Agency, generating a timely re-engagement with the themes, issues and arguments at the heart of Gell's work, which remains salient, and controversial, in the social sciences and humanities. Extending his theory into new territory - from music to literary technology and ontology to technological change - the contributors do not simply take stock, but also provoke, critically reassessing this important work while using it to challenge conceptual and disciplinary boundaries.

What is it to be human? What are our specifically human attributes, our capacities and liabilities? Such questions gave birth to anthropology as an Enlightenment science. This book argues that it is again appropriate to bring "the human" to the fore, to reclaim the singularity of the word as central to the anthropological endeavor, not on the basis of the substance of a human nature - "To be human is to act like this and react like this, to feel this and want this" - but in terms of species-wide capacities: capabilities for action and imagination, liabilities for suffering and cruelty. The contributors approach "the human" with an awareness of these complexities and particularities, rendering this volume unique in its ability to build on anthropology's ethnographic expertise.

Around the world, intensifying development and human demands for fresh water are placing unsustainable pressures on finite resources. Countries are waging war over transboundary rivers, and rural and urban communities are increasingly divided as irrigation demands compete with domestic desires. Marginal groups are losing access to water as powerful elites protect their own interests, and entire ecosystems are being severely degraded. These problems are particularly evident in Australia, with its industrialised economy and arid climate. Yet there have been relatively few attempts to examine the social and cultural complexities that underlie people's engagements with water. Based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork in two major Australian river catchments (the Mitchell River in Cape York, and the Brisbane River in southeast Queensland), this book examines their major water using and managing groups: indigenous communities, farmers, industries, recreational and domestic water users, and environmental organisations. It explores the issues that shape their different beliefs, values and practices in relation to water, and considers the specifically cultural or sub-cultural meanings that they encode in their material surroundings. Through an analysis of each group's diverse efforts to 'garden the world', it provides insights into the complexities of human-environmental relationships.

Archiving Cultures defines and models the concept of a cultural archives focusing on how diverse communities express and record their heritage and collective memory and why and how these often-intangible expressions are archival records. Analysis of oral traditions, memory texts and performance arts demonstrate their relevance as records of their communities. Key features of this book include definitions of cultural heritage and archival heritage with an emphasis on intangible cultural heritage. Aspects of cultural heritage such as oral traditions, performance arts, memory texts and collective memory are placed within the context of records and archives. Presents strategies for reconciling intangible and tangible cultural expressions with traditional archival theory and practice. Offers both analog and digital models for constructing a cultural archives through examples and vignettes. Audience includes archivists and other information workers who challenge Western archival theory and scholars concerned with interdisciplinary perspectives on tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Relevant to scholars involved with non-textual materials. Will appeal to a range of academic disciplines engaging with 'the archive'.

The Portuguese Colonial Empire established its base in Africa in the fifteenth century and would not be dissolved until 1975. This book investigates how the different populations under Portuguese rule were represented within the context of the Colonial Empire by examining the relationship between these representations and the meanings attached to the notion of 'race'. Colour, for example, an apparently objective criterion of classification, became a synonym or near-synonym for 'race', a more abstract notion for which attempts were made to establish scientific credibility. Through her analysis of government documents, colonial propaganda materials and interviews, the author employs an anthropological perspective to examine how the existence of racist theories, originating in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, went on to inform the policy of the Estado Novo (Second Republic, 1933-1974) and the production of academic literature on 'race' in Portugal. This study provides insight into the relationship between the racist formulations disseminated in Portugal and the racist theories produced from the eighteenth century onward in Europe and beyond.