Anthropology and Egalitarianism
Ethnographic Encounters from Monticello to Guinea-Bissau

Eric Gable (Author)

9780253222756

Paperback / softback, published 3 December 2010

246 pages, 7 b&w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.408 kg

"Contributing interestingly to what has become a fairly unusual anthropological genre, Gable (Univ. of Mary Washington) draws on the diversity of fieldwork experience that comes only with time and maturity in the discipline to produce a volume that seeks to explain anthropological knowledge and understandings for not just other anthropologists, but anyone interested in how one can attempt to understand other cultures and people. Any given anthropologist will probably find something here to disagree with, but the value of the overarching project—opening up ways of working and thinking about human diversity for a broader audience—overrides such quibbles. Fieldwork in West Africa, Indonesia, and Virginia forms the foundation, and theoretical approaches including those of Clifford Geertz and Marshall Sahlins (and their critics) form the framework for this clear, accessible discussion. Because of the intended audience, Gable does not include citations throughout the text, but instead provides a set of notes on sources to suggest further readings. . . Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. —Choice"—F. W. Gleach, Cornell University
"Overall, this book is a success and a useful text for ethnographers of all types. Its self-reflective nature should make any researcher think deeply on her or his own process, and the accessibility of the writing makes it useful for classrooms of all levels. . . . Gable's writing is always pleasant and at times beautifully eloquent."—journal of Folklore Research
"Among the most eloquent and deeply reflexive works I have read in some time. . . . Accessible, conversational, and at times disarmingly colloquial, it is precisely the kind of work that should be taught at the undergraduate level."—Liam D. Murphy, co-author of A History of Anthropological Theory
"A major work of scholarship, with the potential to become a classic work of anthropology that will be read and debated for years to come."—Paul Stoller, author of The Power of the Between: An Anthropological Odyssey

Anthropology and Egalitarianism is an artful and accessible introduction to key themes in cultural anthropology. Writing in a deeply personal style and using material from his fieldwork in three dramatically different locales—Indonesia, West Africa, and Monticello, the historic home of Thomas Jefferson—Eric Gable shows why the ethnographic encounter is the core of the discipline's method and the basis of its unique contribution to understanding the human condition. Gable weaves together vignettes from the field and discussion of major works as he explores the development of the idea of culture through the experience of cultural contrast, anthropology's fraught relationship to racism and colonialism, and other enduring themes.

Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction: Culture by Contrast and Theory in Anthropology
1. Supping with Savages
2. Standing in a Line
3. Jefferson's Ardor
4. The Colonialist's Dress Code
5. Taking Pictures in the Field, or the Anthropologist's Dress Code
6. Beyond Belief
7. The Sex Life of Savages
Conclusion: Tending to Nature, Tending to Culture, or Is Anthropology History?
Notes on Sources
References
Index