By addressing the issue of food and eating in Britain today, this book considers the way in which our food habits are changing, and shows how social and personal identities and perceptions of health and risk influence choices. It also looks at the increase of vegetarianism, and the relative ineffectiveness of official eating advice. The book should be useful to students of anthropology, cultural studies and health promotion as well as to those scientists and policymakers who are concerned with food. The introduction seeks to indicate how social scientists can help us understand why people eat what they do. In the following chapters anthropologists and sociologists discuss themes of change and continuities and identity in food and eating in Britain today.

"The Cultural Construction of Sexuality" illustrates the argument that sexuality is not a thing in itself', but a concept that can only be understood with reference to economic, political and social factors.

This study deals with three domains of food which raise complex epistemological, political and moral issues. Through an examination of a wide range of material drawn from anthropology, history, literature and political economy, the author discusses the relationship between food and entitlement, gender, notions of the body and development. Food is shown to be a powerful metaphor for our sense of self, our social and political relations, our cosmology and our global system.

Since the inception of their discipline, anthropologists have studied virtually every conceivable aspect of other peoples' morality - religion, social control, sin, virtue, evil, duty, purity and pollution. But what of the examination of anthropology itself, and of its agendas, epistemes, theories and praxes? In 1991, Raymond Firth spoke of social anthropology as an essentially moral discipline. Is such a view outmoded in a postmodern era? Do anthropological ethics have to be re-thought each generation as the conditions of the discipline change, and as choices collide with moral alternatives? The Ethics of Anthropology looks at some of these crucial issues as they reflect on researcher relations, privacy, authority, secrecy and ownership of knowledge. The book combines theoretical papers and case studies from eminent scholars including Lisette Josephides, Steven Nugent, Marilyn Silverman, Andrew Spiegel and Veronica Strang. Showing how the topic of ethics goes to the heart of anthropology, it raises the controversial question of why - and for whom - the anthropological discipline functions.

Since the inception of their discipline, anthropologists have studied virtually every conceivable aspect of other peoples' morality - religion, social control, sin, virtue, evil, duty, purity and pollution. But what of the examination of anthropology itself, and of its agendas, epistemes, theories and praxes? In 1991, Raymond Firth spoke of social anthropology as an essentially moral discipline. Is such a view outmoded in a postmodern era? Do anthropological ethics have to be re-thought each generation as the conditions of the discipline change, and as choices collide with moral alternatives? The Ethics of Anthropology looks at some of these crucial issues as they reflect on researcher relations, privacy, authority, secrecy and ownership of knowledge. The book combines theoretical papers and case studies from eminent scholars including Lisette Josephides, Steven Nugent, Marilyn Silverman, Andrew Spiegel and Veronica Strang. Showing how the topic of ethics goes to the heart of anthropology, it raises the controversial question of why - and for whom - the anthropological discipline functions.

Full Contributors:
Hannah Bradby MRC MEdical Sociology Unit, Glasgow University Simon Charsley Dept of Sociology, Glasgow University Simon Cohn^Goldsmiths College Nick Fiddes Lynn Harbottle Medical Anthropologist and Nutritionist Alison James University of Hull Anne Keane Anne Murcott^ South Bank University, London Jacquie Reilly Glasgow University Alan Warde University of Lancaster Anna Willetts I^Janice Williams

African Voices, African Lives explores the world of 'Mohammed', a swahili peasant living on Mafia Island, Tanzania. Through his own words - some written, some spoken - and those of his relatives, including his ex-wife and one of his daughters, he enables us to see the world through his eyes, including the invisisble world of spirits which plays a significant role in his life. This information is gathered by Pat Caplan, the anthropologist, over almost three decades of talking and writing to each other. She acts not only as translator and editor, but also as interpreter, bringing in her own knowledge gathered from field data as well as comparative material from other anthropological work.
By utilising a mixture of styles - narrative and life history, ethnographic observation, and the diary kept by Mohammed at the anthropologist's bequest, African Voices African Lives will make an important contribution to current debates in anthropology by grappling with issues raised by 'personal narratives', authorial authority, and with refexivity.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415137233

First Published in 1987. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Are disputes ever really resolved, or do people need to find ways of accommodating them and living with the consequences? Can dispute settlement procedures at the local level be transferred to wider environments?
In attempting to answer these questions, some of the foremost specialists in the anthropology of law and disputing behaviour examine how people in a variety of social settings, ranging from Ireland to East Africa, deal with quarrels and seek to resolve or accommodate them. This stimulating volume should be of interest to anyone concerned about the increase in conflict in many parts of the world.

Are disputes ever really resolved, or do people need to find ways of accommodating them and living with the consequences? Can dispute settlement procedures at the local level be transferred to wider environments?
In attempting to answer these questions, some of the foremost specialists in the anthropology of law and disputing behaviour examine how people in a variety of social settings, ranging from Ireland to East Africa, deal with quarrels and seek to resolve or accommodate them. This stimulating volume should be of interest to anyone concerned about the increase in conflict in many parts of the world.

This lecture deals with the three domains of food which raise complex epistemological, political and moral issues. Through an examination of a wide range of material drawn from anthropology, history, literature and political economy, there is discussion of the relationship between food and entitlement, gender, notions of the body, and development. Food is shown to be a powerful metaphor for our sense of self, our social and political relations, our cosmology and our global system.

Virtually all anthropologists undertaking fieldwork experience emotional difficulties in relating their own personal culture to the field culture. The issue of gender arises because ethnographers do fieldwork by establishing relationships, and this is done as a person of a particular age, sexual orientation, belief, educational background, ethnic identity and class. In particular it is done as men and women. Gendered Fields examines and explores the progress of feminist anthropology, the gendered nature of fieldwork itself, and the articulation of gender with other aspects of the self of the ethnographer.

This is the extraordinary story of Mikidadi, an ordinary Tanzanian from a remote coastal island, who became a Koran-school teacher, charity leader, environmental activist and guardian of an extended family. But this biography is not only about Mikidadi's life and legacy, but also his times. He lived through transitions from colonialism to independence, socialism to neoliberalism, a single- to a multi-party state, and a local Swahili Islam to a more globalized and politicized form. He also experienced the growth of corruption, and the increasing role of Western NGOs and Islamic charities. In considering how wider historical processes impacted on Mikidadi, as life got progressively harder for his family, this book seeks to counter some of the recent rewriting of Tanzania's post-colonial history. Skilfully moving through the decades, between events at national, regional and individual levels, between three generations, and even adding a further layer of her own life as an anthropologist, Caplan succeeds in writing an engaging, accessible account that will appeal to both academics and students. For at the centre of this book is an unlikely friendship that began in 1966 between a 12-year-old boy and a 23-year-old woman, and lasted nearly four decades, to be cut short by Mikidadi's untimely death in 2002. Recollections of meetings, and extracts from fieldwork notes and correspondence, bring a lively immediacy to this exchange, in which profound cultural differences between researcher and researched are transcended in interconnected lives. "This clear and well-written book celebrates a life and its place in history. It is an exemplar of public anthropology." - David Zeitlyn, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Oxford. 'An unprecedented ethnographic analysis of contemporary Tanzanian history exploring how individuals, families and communities over time perceive, act, negotiate and strive to adjust in the shade of shifting political, economic and ideological conditions.' - Kjersti Larsen, Professor, Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo 'Clear, engaging, and insightful, this accessible biography provides a rich entry point into African history and anthropology through an intimate account of life in a coastal East African village.' - Christine J. Walley, Professor of Anthropology, Director of Graduate Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 'A model of participatory and ethical research, Mikidadi is an invaluable resource for scholars, students, development practitioners, and environment activists.' - Marjorie Mbilinyi, Professor, University of Dar es Salaam (1968-2003); Principal Policy Analyst, Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (2004-14)

This book considers the themes of modernity, identity, and politics on the East African coast and islands. Currently, this area is undergoing rapid change as "globalization" makes its impact. Tourism, increased monetisation, emigration from and immigration to the area, and the varying policies of multinational agencies and local states are all significant factors. These chapters reveal some of the ways in which the Swahili seek to maintain their boundaries, even as they adapt their cultural practices to new realities. Some of the specific issues addressed are the effects of recent economic and social changes in towns such as Bagamoyo and Malindi, the north and south of Mafia Island, and the Comoro Islands. The history of Zanzibar, long a multicultural society which underwent a revolution in 1964 and has recently once again experienced violent political confrontations, is also examined, especially within the context of the tensions which arise when ethnic differences are essentialized and politicized as they have been on Zanzibar.The volume also focuses on how the Swahili language, literature, and culture have been affected by modernity. The expression of Swahili identity in poetry and song are explored, revealing how recent songs and performance known as taarabu reflect changes in social circumstances as well as shifting audience boundaries. By examining the representation of women in two kinds of Swahili literature, a classical nineteenth century poem and two recent plays, this volume also reveals the strong social constraints under which Swahili women -- and others in East Africa -- continue to live.

This book looks at the concept of risk from a cross-cultural perspective, the contributors challenge the Eurocentric frameworks within which notions of risk are more commonly considered. They argue that perceptions of danger, and sources of anxiety, are far more socially and culturally constructed - and far more contingent - than risk theorists generally admit. Topics covered include prostitutes in London; AIDS in Tanzania; the cease-fire in Northern Ireland; the volcanic eruptions in Montserrat; modernisation in Amazonia; and the BSE scare in Britain.