Before the emergence of anthropology around the middle of the
nineteenth century, there was no ethnography as such. But the
discipline owes its formation to certain strands that go back into
the remoter past of the ancient world, as far back as Homeric epic,
and range over such themes as the Greek views of non-Greeks and
indeed of the boundaries of what it is to be human. These classical
structural polarities have provided an enduring interpretative
framework for configuring the 'other' in very different societies
and places. Reaching across a remarkable time span, Mason's
approach does not attempt a unified narrative, but uses case
studies from the ancient world, the early modern era and the
Enlightenment, many of them related to the difficulties of
comprehending the cultures of the New World, to pinpoint startling
continuities and changes. In this way, Mason reveals 'embedded
ethnographies' in the works of a diverse set of writers, from
giants of their age such as Sextus Empiricus, Columbus, Montaigne,
the Marquis de Sade and Goethe, to little-known authors of the
sixteenth century such as Jan Huygen van Linschoten (tales of sex
and drugs in Goa) and Adriaen Coenen (encountering Eskimos in The
Hague). Drawing his conclusions from a wealth of sources, the
author deftly moves from travellers' accounts, encyclopaedias,
cosmographies and natural history compilations, to literary works
of fiction, translating them from seven languages. Many are
presented here to English readers for the first time. Whether
non-European peoples are demonized or idealized, the author asks,
can any trace of a native voice still be found in these European
texts? An outstanding work by a scholar with an eye for
extraordinary case studies and unexpected cultural connections,
which contribute to opening up new paths of research and
reinvigorate the field. Francisco Bethencourt - Charles Boxer
Professor of History, King's College London The Ways of the World
is an elegant, lucid, exemplary piece of intellectual history by an
author who is as much at home in philosophy and literary criticism
as he is in anthropology and history. Peter Burke - Emeritus
Professor of Cultural History, Emmanuel College, University of
Cambridge
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