Wine is one of the most celebrated and appreciated commodities around the world. Wine writers and scientists tell us much about varieties of wines, winegrowing estates, the commercial value and the biochemistry of wine, but seldom address the cultural, social, and historical conditions through which wine is produced and represented. This path-breaking collection of essays by leading anthropologists looks not only at the product but also beyond this to disclose important social and cultural issues that inform the production and consumption of wine. The authors show that wine offers a window onto a variety of cultural, social, political and economic issues throughout the world. The global scope of these essays demonstrates the ways in which wine changes as an object of study, commodity and symbol in different geographical and cultural contexts. This book is unique in covering the latest ethnography, theoretical and ethnohistorical research on wine throughout the globe. Four central themes emerge in this collection: "terroir"; power and place; commodification and politics; and technology and nature. The essays in each section offer broad frameworks for looking at current research with wine at the core.

Readings in Cultural Anthropology and the Contemporary World: Critical Perspectives provides students with a carefully curated selection of articles that address the principal issues inclusive in the history of the discipline, including globalization, gender, race and ethnicity, kinship, language, and climate change. The anthology is divided into six units. The readings in Unit I address the history of the cultural anthropology discipline and its all-important and central concept of culture. In Unit II, students read selections that address race and ethnicity, including historical and contemporary conceptions of race and the highly politicized US-Mexico border. Unit III focuses on economic anthropology with readings that discuss women as economic agents and the economic factors and consequences associated with migrants. Unit IV is about political anthropology and includes two readings that criticize some of the stereotypes associated with leadership among Indigenous people. In Unit V, the readings distinguish sex as biological for gender as social constructs and examine the reality of gender-based violence. The final unit explores the world system and globalization, including readings that cover a range of topics from the internet to the globalization of fast food to climate change. Readings in Cultural Anthropology and the Contemporary World is an ideal primary or supplementary resource for courses in cultural anthropology and anthropological theory.

Wine is one of the most celebrated and appreciated commodities around the world. Wine writers and scientists tell us much about varieties of wines, winegrowing estates, the commercial value and the biochemistry of wine, but seldom address the cultural, social, and historical conditions through which wine is produced and represented. This path-breaking collection of essays by leading anthropologists looks not only at the product but also beyond this to disclose important social and cultural issues that inform the production and consumption of wine. The authors show that wine offers a window onto a variety of cultural, social, political and economic issues throughout the world. The global scope of these essays demonstrates the ways in which wine changes as an object of study, commodity and symbol in different geographical and cultural contexts. This book is unique in covering the latest ethnography, theoretical and ethnohistorical research on wine throughout the globe. Four central themes emerge in this collection: terroir; power and place; commodification and politics; and technology and nature. The essays in each section offer broad frameworks for looking at current research with wine at the core.