Beyond Writing Culture: Current Intersections of Epistemologies and Representational Practices - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1845456750 ISBN 13: 9781845456757

Publisher: Berghahn Books, 2010

Synopsis

Two decades after the publication of Clifford and Marcus' volume Writing Culture, this collection provides a fresh and diverse reassessment of the debates that this pioneering volume unleashed. At the same time, Beyond Writing Culture moves the debate on by embracing the more fundamental challenge as to how to conceptualise the intricate relationship between epistemology and representational practices rather than maintaining the original narrow focus on textual analysis. It thus offers a thought-provoking tapestry of new ideas relevant for scholars not only concerned with 'the ethnographic Other', but with representation in general.

About this title

About the Author:

Olaf Zenker is Junior Professor at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Freie Universität Berlin. He received his PhD from the Martin Luther University and the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale, Germany, and obtained his habilitation from the University of Bern, Switzerland. His publications include the co-edited volume Irish/ness Is All Around Us: Language Revivalism and the Culture of Ethnic Identity in Northern Ireland (Berghahn Books, 2013).

Review:

"...an excellent recent example [of less ideologically driven analyses of Writing Culture]... this volume is the only one ... that presents a serious, sustained analysis of the intersections between epistemology and representational practice...More so than the edited volumes on this topic that preceded it, Beyond Writing Culture attempts to strike a balance between acknowledging the contribution of Writing Culture and trying to learn from its mistakes."  ·  Collaborative Anthropologies

"This volume represents the collection of a number of arguments presently raging in the halls of academia regarding the future of ethnography. By returning to Writing Culture over two decades after its first appearance, Zenker and Kumoll attest to the persistence of the landmark book's ideas. While not an introduction to Writing Culture, this book is highly recommended to scholars interested in the current state of anthropology and the future potential of ethnographic work to move 'beyond' Writing Culture without abandoning its important contribution altogether."  ·  Anthropology and Education Quarterly

"This is a book that will attract a great deal of attention among anthropologists and social scientists in general. It is a great advance on earlier critiques of Writing Culture (1986) that have emerged at intervals, a large number of them cited by the contributors. Its strength lies particularly in its transdisciplinary perspectives and the clarity of both critique and new representations. The prologue is a tour de force."  ·  Joan Vincent, Professor Emerita, Barnard College/Columbia University

About this edition

• Publisher: Berghahn Books
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1845456750
• ISBN 13: 9781845456757
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256
• Editor: Zenker Olaf, Kumoll Karsten