This introduction to social and cultural anthropology has become a modern classic, revealing the rich global variation in social life and culture across the world. Presenting a clear overview of anthropology, it focuses on central topics such as kinship, ethnicity, ritual and political systems, offering a wealth of examples that demonstrate the enormous scope of anthropology and the importance of a comparative perspective. Using reviews of key works to illustrate his argument, for over 25 years Thomas Hylland Eriksen's lucid and accessible textbook has been a much respected and widely used undergraduate-level introduction to social anthropology. This fully updated fifth edition features brand new chapters on climate and medical anthropology, along with rewritten sections on ecology, nature and the Anthropocene. It also incorporates a more systematic engagement with gender and digitalisation throughout the text.

The town of Longyearbyen in the high Arctic is the world's northernmost settlement. Here, climate change is happening fast. It is clearly seen and sensed by the locals; with higher temperatures, more rain and permafrost thaw. At the same time, the town is shifting from state-controlled coal production to tourism, research and development, rapidly globalising, with numerous languages spoken, cruise ships sounding the horn in the harbour and planes landing and taking off. Zdenka Sokolí�ková lived here between 2019 and 2021, and her research in the community uncovered a story about the conflict between sustainability and the driving forces of politics and economy in the rich global North. A small town of 2,400 inhabitants at 78 degrees latitude north on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, Longyearbyen provided a unique view into the unmistakable relationship between global capitalism and climate change. The Paradox of Svalbard looks at both local and global trends to access a deep understanding of the effects of tourism, immigration, labour and many other elements on the trajectory of climate crisis, and whether anything can be done to reverse them.

The publication of Fredrik Barth's Ethnic Groups and Boundaries marked a milestone in the conceptualization of ethnicity and ethnic groups and opened a new field of enquiry in the social scientific study of ethnicity. Ethnic Groups and Boundaries Today: A Legacy of Fifty Years demonstrates the enduring significance of the work, identifying its shortcomings and showcasing the state of the art today, fifty years after the publication of the groundbreaking original. Bringing together a team of leading contributors, all of whom have been inspired by Barth's theory and have made significant contributions of their own to the theorisation and research of ethnicity, this volume assesses the theoretical approach presented in Ethnic Groups and Boundaries, both in the context of its time and with the hindsight of the developments in the social sciences since then. It emphasizes the legacy of the original text and determines its significance, whilst identifying and elaborating on the main lines of the subsequent developments of the concept of ethnicity that were influenced by Ethnic Groups and Boundaries, but that have since developed and superseded the original. As such, it will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in the concept and study of ethnicity.

This introduction to social and cultural anthropology has become a modern classic, revealing the rich global variation in social life and culture across the world. Presenting a clear overview of anthropology, it focuses on central topics such as kinship, ethnicity, ritual and political systems, offering a wealth of examples that demonstrate the enormous scope of anthropology and the importance of a comparative perspective. Unlike other texts on the subject, Small Places, Large Issues incorporates the anthropology of complex modern societies. Using reviews of key works to illustrate his argument, Thomas Hylland Eriksen's lucid and accessible overview remains an established introductory text in anthropology. This fourth edition is updated throughout and increases the emphasis on the interdependence of human worlds. It incorporates recent debates and controversies, ranging from globalisation and migration research to problems of cultural translation, and discusses the challenges of interdisciplinarity in a lucid way.

Although economic, cultural and demographic changes are part and parcel of the modern world, changes in a number of areas have accelerated in the last quarter-century - a period sometimes spoken of as the global information society, a world of 'liquid modernity' - or of fully-fledged global neoliberalism associated with deregulation, flexible accumulation and financialisation. At a global level, some of the substantial areas where change has accelerated are, apart from the spectacular spread of new information technology, tourism, foreign direct investment, urbanisation, resource extraction through mining, energy use, species extinction, displacement, and international trade. These and other changes are, needless to say, perceived and acted upon differently in different countries and localities, and in order to understand the implications of the present acceleration of history, they have to be explored locally. This book gives a compelling perspective on the contemporary, 'overheated' world, presenting ethnographic material from many countries and weaving the local and particular together with large-scale global acceleration. This book was first published as a special issue of History and Anthropology.

The publication of Fredrik Barth's Ethnic Groups and Boundaries marked a milestone in the conceptualization of ethnicity and ethnic groups and opened a new field of enquiry in the social scientific study of ethnicity. Ethnic Groups and Boundaries Today: A Legacy of Fifty Years demonstrates the enduring significance of the work, identifying its shortcomings and showcasing the state of the art today, fifty years after the publication of the groundbreaking original. Bringing together a team of leading contributors, all of whom have been inspired by Barth's theory and have made significant contributions of their own to the theorisation and research of ethnicity, this volume assesses the theoretical approach presented in Ethnic Groups and Boundaries, both in the context of its time and with the hindsight of the developments in the social sciences since then. It emphasizes the legacy of the original text and determines its significance, whilst identifying and elaborating on the main lines of the subsequent developments of the concept of ethnicity that were influenced by Ethnic Groups and Boundaries, but that have since developed and superseded the original. As such, it will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in the concept and study of ethnicity.

Explicitly comparative in its approach, Paradoxes of Cultural Recognition discusses central issues regarding multiculturalism in today's Europe, based on studies of Norway and the Netherlands. Distinguishing clearly the four social fields of the media, education, the labour market and issues relating to gender, it presents empirical case studies, which offer valuable insights into the nature of majority/minority relationships, whilst raising theoretical questions relevant for further comparisons. With clear comparisons of integration and immigration policies in Europe and engagement with the questions surrounding the need for more culturally sensitive policies, this volume will be of interest to scholars and policy-makers alike.

For the first time in human history, the vast majority of the world's population is connected through trade, travel, production, media and politics. Ours is an era of ubiquitous mobile communication, economic outsourcing, mass migration and imported consumer goods. At the same time, people everywhere are concerned to keep their identities rooted and sense of place in the face of momentous change.This new edition of Thomas Hylland Eriksen's concise and engaging landmark textbook outlines the main debates and controversies around globalization, and develops a unique perspective to show how globalization is an inherently double process, taking place both from above and below. Each chapter is supported by boxed case studies and bullet points summarizing the core information, suggestions for further reading, and essay and discussion questions, making this the ideal guide for both the classroom and independent study. Focusing on key concepts of globalization and drawing on international examples, this book is essential for anyone wishing to understand the fundamental processes underlying the contemporary world and the consequences these have for all of us.

Focusing on the Sapmi region of Northern Europe as a point of departure, this book enriches and sharpens the concept of 'the North.' It combines detailed empirical research on the Sami people and their life-worlds with theoretical contributions from leading scholars. The authors consider the European North not only as a geographical site or an object of academic research, but as a particular way of knowing and being, with its own needs, practices, concepts, and imaginings. The North, as an epistemic position, offers its own conceptions of politics, human agency, history, and social relations, which this book studies and describes. The volume challenges us to consider social scientific knowledge, its significance, and the practices of producing it in a new way.

Explicitly comparative in its approach, Paradoxes of Cultural Recognition discusses central issues regarding multiculturalism in today's Europe, based on studies of Norway and the Netherlands. Distinguishing clearly the four social fields of the media, education, the labour market and issues relating to gender, it presents empirical case studies, which offer valuable insights into the nature of majority/minority relationships, whilst raising theoretical questions relevant for further comparisons. With clear comparisons of integration and immigration policies in Europe and engagement with the questions surrounding the need for more culturally sensitive policies, this volume will be of interest to scholars and policy-makers alike.

This open access book includes socio-anthropological and anthropo-sociological conversations between one of the world’s leading anthropologists, Thomas Hyland Eriksen, and a young scholar, using his groundbreaking "overheating" approach.This book includes socio-anthropological and anthropo-sociological conversations between one of the world’s leading anthropologists, Thomas Hyland Eriksen, and a young scholar, using his groundbreaking "overheating" approach. From the pandemic to the spread of nationalism, from the Anthropocene to the Homogenocene, the authors discuss the most urgent issues of current society: e.g., the loss of biological and cultural diversity owing to the forces of globalisation; and the emergence of new forms of diversity through globalisation and migration; the intersectional dimension of climate change; the incredible rising of anger demonstrations around the world and resentful, overheated identities often linked to right-wing nationalism; the way digital devices have changed the meaning of temporality in people's life-worlds; the regulatory and competitive pressures on universities which are a result of many factors in the intersection of globalisation, massification and marketisation; youth's weakened belief in progress connected to changes in the contemporary world, such as growing inequality, political alienation and environmental destruction; recent pathbreaking research and original theory in sociology and anthropology related to the changes in an overheated world; and what post-Coronavirus social life might become. Highly topical, engaging and written in a conversational style, this book is a must-read for social scientists and discerning lay persons who want a fresh perspective on understanding the critical issues of our time.  This is an open access book.

Although the symbolic and political importance of flags has often been mentioned by scholars of nationalism, there are few in-depth studies of the significance of flags for national identities.

This multi-disciplinary collection offers case studies and comparisons of flag history, uses and controversies.

This book brings together a dozen scholars, from varying national and disciplinary backgrounds, to offers a cluster of close readings of flags in their social contexts, mostly contemporary, but also historical. Case studies from Denmark, England, Northern Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States explore ways in which flags are contested, stir up powerful emotions, can be commercialised in some contexts but not in others, serve as quasi-religious symbols, and as physical boundary markers; how the same flag can be solemn and formal in one setting, but stand for domestic bliss and informal cultural intimacy in another.

Focusing on the Sapmi region of Northern Europe as a point of departure, this book enriches and sharpens the concept of 'the North.' It combines detailed empirical research on the Sami people and their life-worlds with theoretical contributions from leading scholars. The authors consider the European North not only as a geographical site or an object of academic research, but as a particular way of knowing and being, with its own needs, practices, concepts, and imaginings. The North, as an epistemic position, offers its own conceptions of politics, human agency, history, and social relations, which this book studies and describes. The volume challenges us to consider social scientific knowledge, its significance, and the practices of producing it in a new way.

Is ethnicity a result of cultural differences? Is ethnicity dependent on the practical use and belief in cultural differences? Drawing on a wide-range of classic and recent studies in anthropology and sociology, Thomas Hylland Eriksen examines the relationship between ethnicity, class, gender and nationhood. Using the question 'What is ethnicity?' as his starting point, Eriksen examines the interplay between ideology and ethnicity, how the Internet impacts understanding of ethnicity, identity politics, and the commercialisation of identity. Through this, he reveals that far from being an immutable property of groups, ethnicity is a dynamic and shifting aspect of social relationships. A core text for all students of social anthropology and related subjects, Ethnicity and Nationalism has been a leading introduction to the field since its original publication in 1993. This new edition - expanded and thoroughly revised - is indispensable to anyone seriously interested in understanding ethnic phenomena.

The world is overheated. Too full and too fast; uneven and unequal. It is the age of the Anthropocene, of humanity's indelible mark upon the planet. In short, it is globalisation - but not as we know it. In this groundbreaking book, Thomas Hylland Eriksen breathes new life into the discussion around global modernity, bringing an anthropologist's approach to bear on the three interrelated crises of environment, economy and identity. He argues that although these crises are global in scope, they are perceived and responded to locally, and that contradictions abound between the standardising forces of information-age global capitalism and the socially embedded nature of people and local practices. Carefully synthesising the ethnographic and comparative methods of anthropology with macrosocial and historical material, Overheating offers an innovative new perspective on issues including energy use, urbanisation, deprivation, human (im)mobility, and the spread of interconnected, wireless information technology.

Anthropology ought to have changed the world. What went wrong? Engaging Anthropology takes an unflinching look at why the discipline has not gained the popularity and respect it deserves in the twenty-first century. From identity to multicultural society, new technologies to work, globalization to marginalization, anthropology has a vital contribution to make.While showcasing the intellectual power of the discipline, Eriksen takes the anthropological community to task for its unwillingness to engage more proactively with the media in a wide range of current debates. If anthropology matters as a key tool with which to understand modern society beyond the ivory towers of academia, why are so few anthropologists willing to come forward in times of national or global crisis? Eriksen argues that anthropology needs to rediscover the art of narrative and abandon arid analysis and, more provocatively, anthropologists need to lose their fear of plunging into the vexed issues modern societies present. Engaging Anthropology makes an impassioned plea for positioning anthropology as the universal intellectual discipline. Eriksen has provided the wake-up call we were all awaiting.

Anthropology ought to have changed the world. What went wrong? Engaging Anthropology takes an unflinching look at why the discipline has not gained the popularity and respect it deserves in the twenty-first century. From identity to multicultural society, new technologies to work, globalization to marginalization, anthropology has a vital contribution to make.While showcasing the intellectual power of the discipline, Eriksen takes the anthropological community to task for its unwillingness to engage more proactively with the media in a wide range of current debates. If anthropology matters as a key tool with which to understand modern society beyond the ivory towers of academia, why are so few anthropologists willing to come forward in times of national or global crisis? Eriksen argues that anthropology needs to rediscover the art of narrative and abandon arid analysis and, more provocatively, anthropologists need to lose their fear of plunging into the vexed issues modern societies present. Engaging Anthropology makes an impassioned plea for positioning anthropology as the universal intellectual discipline. Eriksen has provided the wake-up call we were all awaiting.

This book seeks to enhance comparative understandings of ethnicity, to refine theories of nationalism, and to contribute to ongoing debates on multiculturalism, identity politics and creolization. Mauritius, an Indian Ocean island-state with a population of about one million, provides a fascinating focus for this comprehensive study of social identity and political culture. Fifteen languages are officially spoken on the island, and four world religions are represented, as well as a high number of ethnic groups. The author argues that the social importance of ethnicity depends not only on political and economic circumstances, but also on kinship organization, and shows how ethnicity is expressed through the idioms of language and religion. However, it is also shown how ethnic identity may be superseded by other forms of belongingness and politics in the contemporary age. Nationhood, gender, class and individualism are all examined for the role they play in social organization and the formation of collective identity.
Multiethnic and peaceful, the pace of social change in Mauritius has been rapid throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The ways in which Mauritians negotiate the relationship between ethnic, national and other identities in forging a surprisingly stable and democratic society, and the peculiar tensions which arise in the interface between the ethnic and the non-ethnic, ought to be familiar to anyone concerned with the future of multiethnic societies.

This book seeks to enhance comparative understandings of ethnicity, to refine theories of nationalism, and to contribute to ongoing debates on multiculturalism, identity politics and creolization. Mauritius, an Indian Ocean island-state with a population of about one million, provides a fascinating focus for this comprehensive study of social identity and political culture. Fifteen languages are officially spoken on the island, and four world religions are represented, as well as a high number of ethnic groups. The author argues that the social importance of ethnicity depends not only on political and economic circumstances, but also on kinship organization, and shows how ethnicity is expressed through the idioms of language and religion. However, it is also shown how ethnic identity may be superseded by other forms of belongingness and politics in the contemporary age. Nationhood, gender, class and individualism are all examined for the role they play in social organization and the formation of collective identity. Multiethnic and peaceful, the pace of social change in Mauritius has been rapid throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The ways in which Mauritians negotiate the relationship between ethnic, national and other identities in forging a surprisingly stable and democratic society, and the peculiar tensions which arise in the interface between the ethnic and the non-ethnic, ought to be familiar to anyone concerned with the future of multiethnic societies.

Although economic, cultural and demographic changes are part and parcel of the modern world, changes in a number of areas have accelerated in the last quarter-century - a period sometimes spoken of as the global information society, a world of 'liquid modernity' - or of fully-fledged global neoliberalism associated with deregulation, flexible accumulation and financialisation. At a global level, some of the substantial areas where change has accelerated are, apart from the spectacular spread of new information technology, tourism, foreign direct investment, urbanisation, resource extraction through mining, energy use, species extinction, displacement, and international trade. These and other changes are, needless to say, perceived and acted upon differently in different countries and localities, and in order to understand the implications of the present acceleration of history, they have to be explored locally. This book gives a compelling perspective on the contemporary, 'overheated' world, presenting ethnographic material from many countries and weaving the local and particular together with large-scale global acceleration. This book was first published as a special issue of History and Anthropology.

For the first time in human history, the vast majority of the world's population is connected through trade, travel, production, media and politics. Ours is an era of ubiquitous mobile communication, economic outsourcing, mass migration and imported consumer goods. At the same time, people everywhere are concerned to keep their identities rooted and sense of place in the face of momentous change. This new edition of Thomas Hylland Eriksen's concise and engaging landmark textbook outlines the main debates and controversies around globalization, and develops a unique perspective to show how globalization is an inherently double process, taking place both from above and below. Each chapter is supported by boxed case studies and bullet points summarizing the core information, suggestions for further reading, and essay and discussion questions, making this the ideal guide for both the classroom and independent study. Focusing on key concepts of globalization and drawing on international examples, this book is essential for anyone wishing to understand the fundamental processes underlying the contemporary world and the consequences these have for all of us.

In a fast-changing world, where the extraction of natural resources is key to development, whilst also creating environmental and social disasters, understanding how landscapes, people and politics are shaped by extraction is crucial. Looking at resource extraction in numerous locations at different stages of development, including North, West and South Africa, India, Kazakhstan and Australia, a broad picture is created, covering coal, natural-gas, gold and cement mining, from corporate to 'artisanal' extraction, from the large to the small scale. The chapters answer the questions: What is ideological about resource extraction? How does extraction transform the physical landscape? And how does the extractive process determine which stakeholders become dominant or marginalised? Contributing to policy debates, Mining Encounters uncovers the tensions, negotiations and disparities between different actors in the extractive industries, including exploiters and those who benefit or are impoverished by resource exploitation.

Offering insight and equal consideration into the societies of the "civilized" and "uncivilized" world, "Europe and the People Without History" deftly explores the historical trajectory of so-called modern globalization. In this foundational text about the development of the global political economy, Eric R. Wolf challenges the long-held anthropological notion that non-European cultures and peoples were isolated and static entities before the advent of European colonialism and imperialism. Ironically referred to as "the People Without History" by Wolf, these societies before active colonization possessed perpetually changing, reactionary cultures and were indeed just as intertwined into the processes of the pre-Columbian global economic system as their European counterparts. Utilizing Marxian concepts and a vivid consideration for the importance of history, Wolf judiciously traces the effects and conditions in Europe and the rest of the "known" world, beginning in 1400 AD, that allowed capitalism to emerge as the dominant ideology of the modern era.

Leading anthropologist Thomas Hylland Eriksen shows how anthropology is a revolutionary way of thinking about the human world. Perfect for students, but also for those who have never encountered anthropology before, this book explores the key issues in an exciting and innovative way. Lucid and accessible, What is Anthropology? draws examples from current affairs as well as previous anthropological studies. He looks at the history of anthropology, its unique research methods and some of its central concepts, such as society, culture and translation. This second edition contains a new introduction, as well as updates throughout. New content includes discussions about Brexit, the rise of the populist Right in Europe, the anthropology of climate change and social media. What is Anthropology? shows in persuasive ways why anthropology is a fundamental intellectual discipline, perhaps more so in the 21st century than ever before.

Until now, the growing body of work on environmental anthropology has largely ignored the unavoidable impact of global capitalism on the environment and the extent to which capital itself is a key driver of climate change. Climate, Capitalism and Communities focuses explicitly on that nexus, examining the injustices and inequalities - as well as the activist responses - that have arisen as a result, and the contradictions between the imperatives of exponential economic growth, and those of environmental sustainability, and society as a whole. Bringing an innovative, ethnographic toolkit to bear on a crisis that is at once global and highly localised, the authors shift attention away from the consequences of climate change, to a focus on the social relations and power structures that continue to prevent effective action.