Navigators of the Contemporary
Why Ethnography Matters
Format:Hardback
Publisher:The University of Chicago Press
Published:14th Nov '08
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
As the image of anthropologists exploring exotic locales and filling in blanks on the map has faded, the idea that cultural anthropology has much to say about the contemporary world has likewise diminished. In an increasingly borderless world, how can anthropology help us to tackle the concerns of a global society? David A. Westbrook argues that the traditional tool of the cultural anthropologist - ethnography - can still function as an intellectually exciting way to understand our interconnected, yet mysterious worlds."Navigators of the Contemporary" describes the changing nature of ethnography as anthropologists use it to analyze places closer to home. Westbrook maintains that a conversational style of ethnography can help us look beyond our assumptions and gain new insight into arenas of contemporary life such as corporations, financial institutions, science, the military, and religion. Westbrook's witty, absorbing book is a friendly challenge to anthropologists to shed light on the present and join broader streams of intellectual life. And for those outside the discipline, his inspiring vision of ethnography opens up the prospect of understanding our own world in much greater depth.
"Westbrook's book is the most convincing rendering of how to be a good anthropologist that I know of. The extraordinary clarity and accessibility of his prose and his reasoning are testaments in their very performance to the virtues of his ambitiously broad vision of ethnography. Both stylistically and intellectually, this is a fresh and lovely breeze." - James D. Faubion, Rice University"
ISBN: 9780226887517
Dimensions: 24mm x 16mm x 2mm
Weight: 397g
160 pages