Invitation to Anthropology

253 Pages·2014·11.62 MB·English

by  Luke Eric Lassiter

Invitation to Anthropology,
Fourth Edition
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INVITATION TO
ANTHROPOLOGY,
Fourth Edition
Luke Eric Lassiter
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
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Published by Rowman & Littlefield
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www.rowman.com
10 Thornbury Road, Plymouth PL6 7PP, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2014 by Rowman & Littlefield
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote
passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lassiter, Luke E.
Invitation to anthropology / Luke Eric Lassiter. — Fourth edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7591-2253-6 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-7591-2254-3 (pbk. : alk.
paper) — ISBN 978-0-7591-2255-0 (electronic) 1. Anthropology. I. Title.
GN25.L37 2014
301—dc23 2013039826
™
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
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For my parents,
Max and Laura
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Contents
Preface to the Fourth Edition ix
PART I: ANTHROPOLOGY, CULTURE, AND ETHNOGRAPHY
Chapter 1: Evolution and the Critique of Race: A Short Story 3
Chapter 2: Anthropology and Culture 35
Chapter 3: Ethnography 71
PART II: ETHNOLOGY: SOME HUMAN ISSUES
Chapter 4: History, Change, and Adaptation: On the Roots of
Our World System 109
Chapter 5: Sex, Power, and Inequality: On Gender 135
Chapter 6: Work, Success, and Kids: On Marriage, Family, and Kinship 161
Chapter 7: Knowledge, Belief, and Disbelief: On Religion 187
Afterword 205
Glossary 209
Suggested Readings 219
Index 231
About the Author 239
vii
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Preface to the Fourth Edition
As in previous editions, this new edition of Invitation to Anthropology in-
cludes updates, corrections, and clarifications throughout the text. I have, for
example, briefly expanded or clarified descriptions of evolution, language,
histories of ethnography, fieldwork, population statistics, gender identities,
family, and belief systems, as well as updated the suggested readings list. I
have also added several new examples of current anthropology via textboxes
that are new to this edition. These are titled “Anthropology Here and Now:
Check It Out!” and feature brief descriptions of research, work of individual
anthropologists, or references to further information about a particular topic.
Each of these includes links to a Web source. My hope is that these brief
sidebars may encourage further exploration about particular topics, as well
as provide links to current and ongoing conversations of anthropology’s rel-
evance to contemporary human problems. As this is somewhat experimental
for this edition, I would greatly appreciate readers’ feedback on these addi-
tions, as well as hear about examples of anthropology “here and now” that
you think I should include in future editions.
Along these lines, I have greatly appreciated the correspondence I have
received from faculty, students, and others who have read this book. In many
cases, I have tried to incorporate suggested changes as space allows and to
clarify terms and concepts that seem confusing. I realize, of course, that this
text in several places embraces an unconventional discussion of anthropol-
ogy, and chapters like the last (on religion) continue to strike many as a bit
too unconventional for an introductory text. As I have noted before, I have
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