The Way the World Is: Cultural Processes and Social Relations Among the Mombasa Swahili

Swartz, Marc J.

ISBN 10: 0520071379 / ISBN 13: 9780520071377

Published by University of California Press, 1992

About this Item

This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside.This book has hardback covers. Book contains pencil markings. In poor condition, suitable as a reading copy. No dust jacket. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item,750grams, ISBN:0520071379.

Seller Inventory # 2919088

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Way the World Is: Cultural Processes and Social Relations Among the Mombasa Swahili
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication Date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0520071379
• ISBN 13: 9780520071377
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Poor
• Weight: 750 grams
• Seller catalogs:
  • Anthropology

About this title

Synopsis

Marc Swartz takes us for the first time into the homes and neighborhoods of the Swahili in the East African port of Mombasa. At the same time he develops a new model for the operation and transmission of culture.

In asking how cultural elements influence the social behavior of those who do not share them as well as of those who do, Swartz points to the mediation of status. The many types of status available to individuals provide guidelines that help explain, for example, why the broadly shared elements of Swahili culture (Islamic religion or the nuclear family) do not alone translate into behavior. The Way the World Is demonstrates in a highly original way how culture "works."

About the Author

Marc J. Swartz is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego, and is the author of Political Anthropology (Aldine 1966), and Culture: The Anthropological Perspective (McGraw-Hill 1980).