Small Places, Large Issues: An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology (Anthropology, Culture, and Society) - Softcover

Eriksen, Thomas Hylland

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0745317723 ISBN 13: 9780745317724

Publisher: Pluto Press, 2001

Synopsis

Ranging from the Pacific islands to the Arctic north and from small villages to modern nation states, this concise introduction to social and cultural anthropology reveals the rich global variation in social life and culture. The text also provides a clear overview of anthropology, focusing on central topics such as kinship, ethnicity, ritual and political systems, offering a wealth of examples that demonstrate the enormous scope of anthropology and the importance of a comparative perspective. Unlike previous texts on the subject, Small Places, Large Issues broadens the study to incorporate the anthropology of complex modern societies, thus providing a unique key text for all students of social and cultural anthropology. Using reviews of key monographs to illustrate his argument, Eriksen's lucid and accessible text remains an established introductory text in anthropology. This new edition is updated throughout and includes a new chapter on the history of anthropology. It also shows clearly and comprehensively, through numerous new examples, why classic studies of small-scale societies are relevant for the study of complex phenomena such as nationalism, consumption and the Internet. In this way, the book bridges an often perceived gap between "classic" and "contemporary" anthropology.

About this title

About the Author:

Thomas Hylland Eriksen is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oslo. He is the author of numerous books, including Ethnicity and Nationalism, A History of Anthropology, Small Places, Large Issues, Tyranny of the Moment and Globalisation, all available from Pluto Press.

Review:

Praise for the First Edition:  'Fills a gap and fills it in an exemplary fashion ... Students at all levels will learn a lot from it, and, perhaps more importantly, be provoked to think more.' --Journal of Area Studies

About this edition

• Publisher: Pluto Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0745317723
• ISBN 13: 9780745317724
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 352