Anthropology, Ecology, and Anarchism: A Brian Morris Reader - Softcover

Morris, Brian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1604860936 ISBN 13: 9781604860931

Publisher: PM Press, 2015

Synopsis

Over the course of a long career, Brian Morris has created an impressive body of engaging and insightful writings—from social anthropology and ethnography to politics, history, and philosophy—that is accessible to the layperson without sacrificing analytical rigor. But until now, the essays collected here, originally published in obscure journals and political magazines, have been largely unavailable to the broad readership to which they are so naturally suited. The opposite of arcane, specialized writing, Morris’s work takes an interdisciplinary approach that offers connections between various scholarly interests and anarchist politics and thought. There is a long history of anarchist writers drawing upon works in a range of fields, and Morris’s essays both explore past connections and suggest ways that broad currents of anarchist thought will have new and ever-emerging relevance for anthropology and many other ways of understanding social relationships.

About this title

About the Author:

Brian Morris is professor emeritus of anthropology at Goldsmiths College, London. He is the author of The Anarchist Geographer: An Introduction to the Life of Peter Kropotkin; Bakunin: The Philosophy of Freedom; Ecology and Anarchism: Essays and Reviews on Contemporary Thought; Kropotkin: The Politics of Community. Peter Marshall is a philosopher, historian, biographer, travel writer, and poet. He has written 15 highly acclaimed books, including the landmark history of anarchism Demanding the Impossible. His circumnavigation of Africa was made into a six-part TV series and his voyage around Ireland into a BBC Radio series.

Review:

“There is very little I can add to the outstanding criticism Brian Morris levels at deep ecology . . . insightful as well as incisive. . . . I have found his writings an educational experience.”  —Murray Bookchin

“Brian Morris’s scholarship is nothing if not compendious. . . . Morris’s achievement is formidable. His control of such a breadth of material is enviable, and his style is always lucid. He makes difficult work accessible. His prose conveys the unmistakable impression of a superb and meticulous lecturer at work.”  —Anthony P. Cohen, University of Edinburgh

“Morris writes from a critical sociological approach and is trenchant though good-humored.”  —C. James MacKenzie, University of Lethbridge

“Morris’s acerbic analysis of established literature is matched by nuanced ethnographic analysis. . . . He writes accessibly about complicated matters.”  —Allen F. Roberts, University of California–Los Angeles

“[Morris] is a polymath, interested in a broad spectrum of politics, philosophy, ecology and education, and he has pushed out the frontiers of his chosen discipline. He is someone who looks for interconnections and seeks to understand the whole.”  —Pat Caplan, Goldsmiths College, London

“Morris draws on an incredible range of knowledge, and approaches his writing in a spirit of critical appreciation, with a style which is free of posturing and point scoring.” —Direct Action

“The elusive nature of the human subject has provided an abundant basis for discussions in both the social sciences and the humanities. Working within a largely anthropological tradition, Morris examines these discussions with considerable acumen.”  —Heidi Storl, Augustana College

“Brian... is one of those rare academics who want to spread ideas through teaching and writing for a wide range of publications rather than through obscure academic texts. His writing is always well researched and scholarly whilst remaining accessible to a wide audience.”  —Organise!

"In this review I have only had space to scratch the surface, but Anthropology, ecology, and anarchism is a splendid volume that easily can be recommended to anthropologists and to students. Morris is always provocative, giving us plenty to think about and to debate. I am not an anarchist myself, but if I were going to be one, then I would like to be one like Brian Morris. His writing style is full of insight and it makes for pleasant and easy reading." —Alan Barnard, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute

About this edition

• Publisher: PM Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1604860936
• ISBN 13: 9781604860931
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288