Understanding Cultures
Perspectives in Anthropology and Social Theory
2. Edition September 2001
288 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
ISBN:
978-0-631-22115-9
John Wiley & Sons
Understanding Cultures confronts the major theoretical issues involved in cross-cultural interpretation. The book introduces students to rationality among the ancestors of anthropology before proceeding to a wide-ranging evaluation of the Anglo-American rationality debates.
Acknowledgements.
1. Introduction.
2. Anthropological Ancestors and Interpretation Theory: Boas,
Malinowski, and Evans-Pritchard.
3. Peter Winch and Ordinary Language Philosophy.
4. The Neo-Popperians and the Logic of One Science: I.C. Jarvie
and Robin Horton.
5. Ordinary Language Philosophy in Question: Steven Lukes and
Alasdair MacIntyre.
6. Beyond Explanation and Understanding: The Hermeneutics of
Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Ricoeur.
7. Hermeneutics and Critical Anthropology: The Synthesis of
Practical and Critical Reason.
8. Modernism and Postmodernism in Anthropology.
9. Bounded Cultures - Bounded Selves: The Challenge of
Cultural Diasporas.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Index.
1. Introduction.
2. Anthropological Ancestors and Interpretation Theory: Boas,
Malinowski, and Evans-Pritchard.
3. Peter Winch and Ordinary Language Philosophy.
4. The Neo-Popperians and the Logic of One Science: I.C. Jarvie
and Robin Horton.
5. Ordinary Language Philosophy in Question: Steven Lukes and
Alasdair MacIntyre.
6. Beyond Explanation and Understanding: The Hermeneutics of
Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Ricoeur.
7. Hermeneutics and Critical Anthropology: The Synthesis of
Practical and Critical Reason.
8. Modernism and Postmodernism in Anthropology.
9. Bounded Cultures - Bounded Selves: The Challenge of
Cultural Diasporas.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Index.
"Understanding Cultures is an exceptional work of
anthropological theory, a book which is simultaneously good to
think with, good to teach with, good to write with, good to read
with. What makes it so good is not merely Robert Ulin's capacity to
engage critically and cogently with a wide array of complex ideas,
his willingness to root anthropological discourses deeply in their
appropriate philosophical and pistemological ground, or his obvious
talent for lucid exposition. It is also the intellectual
enthusiasm, and the imagination, which he brings to a difficult
task. This new edition, which has been thoughtfully revised and
updated, is even better than its excellent predecessor." John
Comaroff, University of Chicago
"In this updated form, one of the most accessable and lucid
discussions of rationality takes on new relevance for today's
readers. Understanding Cultures will continue to probe and
illuminate fundamental issues in social theory for years to come."
F. Allan Hanson, University of Kansas
"Ulin's justly acclaimed discussion of the rationality debate
remains essential reading for any anthropologist interested in
epistemology and the politics of representation. For students who
wish to learn how the insights of philosophers, social theorists
and sociocultural anthropologists can enrich each other in building
a critical theory that refuses to take postmodern fragmentation at
face value, this judicious and perceptive work remains the ideal
source." John Gledhill, The University of Manchester
anthropological theory, a book which is simultaneously good to
think with, good to teach with, good to write with, good to read
with. What makes it so good is not merely Robert Ulin's capacity to
engage critically and cogently with a wide array of complex ideas,
his willingness to root anthropological discourses deeply in their
appropriate philosophical and pistemological ground, or his obvious
talent for lucid exposition. It is also the intellectual
enthusiasm, and the imagination, which he brings to a difficult
task. This new edition, which has been thoughtfully revised and
updated, is even better than its excellent predecessor." John
Comaroff, University of Chicago
"In this updated form, one of the most accessable and lucid
discussions of rationality takes on new relevance for today's
readers. Understanding Cultures will continue to probe and
illuminate fundamental issues in social theory for years to come."
F. Allan Hanson, University of Kansas
"Ulin's justly acclaimed discussion of the rationality debate
remains essential reading for any anthropologist interested in
epistemology and the politics of representation. For students who
wish to learn how the insights of philosophers, social theorists
and sociocultural anthropologists can enrich each other in building
a critical theory that refuses to take postmodern fragmentation at
face value, this judicious and perceptive work remains the ideal
source." John Gledhill, The University of Manchester
Robert C. Ulin is Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Professor of Anthropology at Rochester Institute of Technology, and an international expert in theory and the anthropology of work. He is the author of numerous books and articles on social theory and the anthropology of Europe, including Vintages and Traditions (1996).