Trajectories

Excursions with the Anthropology of E. Douglas Lewis

Sandra A Wawrytko editor Thomas A Reuter editor Julian CH Lee editor John M Prior editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Peter Lang Publishing Inc

Published:19th Aug '16

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Trajectories cover

This volume engages with the work of E. Douglas Lewis, who has made major contributions to the understanding of Eastern Indonesia, ethnography, culture, and religion, as well as a neurobiologically informed anthropology. Lewis’ work on the Ata Tana ‘Ai (People of the Forest) of Flores has long been regarded as a seminal work on culture and society in Eastern Indonesia. His ‘precedence theory’ became highly influential among anthropologists in their interpretations of other social groups in the region. In this volume, however, a group of scholars influenced by his work undertake diverse and thought-provoking excursions from Lewis’ work, shedding light on his insights on subjects ranging from Eastern Indonesian ethnography, to theorizing culture change, to development, and to the nascent field of ‘neuroanthropology’. Of particular note, this book also features an extended contribution by Lewis that is, as Professor James J. Fox notes in this book’s foreword, ‘the kind of serious contemplation of an intellectual trajectory that every senior anthropologist should be urged to write’.

“Over a career now spanning more than forty years, E. Douglas Lewis has become one of the most respected anthropologists in the field of eastern Indonesian studies. This volume brings together thirteen essays by friends, colleagues, collaborators, and former students all inspired by various empirical and theoretical aspects of Lewis’s work, from ethnography, history, myth, ritual, and language through to aid and development and the emergent field of neuroanthropology. Together with a closing essay by Lewis himself that traces the path of his own intellectual development, the volume is a fitting tribute to an outstanding scholar and teacher, and one that is notable not only for the quality and originality of its individual contributions, but also for their collective breadth.” Roger Just, Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Kent
“This well-edited volume highlights the value of ethnographic field research and its contribution to the role of anthropology in an increasingly interdisciplinary environment. Due homage is paid to the long-term engagement of E. Douglas Lewis with his students and with Melbourne University.” Leontine Visser, Professor of Rural Development Sociology, Wageningen University
“This fine collection of essays forms the perfect tribute to the wide-ranging work of E. Douglas Lewis. In the best tradition of Lewis’s own work, most contributions are based on solid ethnographic fieldwork, which gives the volume a lasting quality. The collection is concluded by an essay in which Lewis gives his own ideas for new research that could cover another lifespan.” Freek Colombijn, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Editor of «Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde»

ISBN: 9781433133572

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 640g

362 pages

New edition