The Essence of Anthropology

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 432 pages
• Published by: Wadsworth Publishing
• Edition: 1st Edition July 3, 2006
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0534623719
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0534623715
• Book Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Weighs: 2 pounds

Product Description
Haviland et al. present anthropology from a holistic, four-field perspective using three unifying themes to provide a framework for the text: the varied ways human groups face the many challenges of existence, the connections between human culture and human biology, and the disparate impact of globalization on peoples and cultures around the world. Between the superlative writing-which instructors raved about in their reviews-and the strong pedagogical program, the text is designed to help students grasp the concepts and their relevance to today's complex world. Such pedagogy as the "Challenge Issue" at the beginning of each chapter and the "Questions for Reflection" at the end of each chapter--which are linked to the Challenge Issue--provide a framework that ensures that the chapters consistently focus on and reflect the text's themes. Boxed features such as "Biocultural Connections," "Original Studies," and "Anthropology Applied" hone in on particularly interesting examples that give students deeper insight into the meaning and relevance of a wide range of topics covered in the general narrative.

About The Author
Dr. William A. Haviland is Professor Emeritus at the University of Vermont, where he founded the Department of Anthropology and taught for thirty-two years. He holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. He has carried out original research in archaeology in Guatemala and Vermont, ethnography in Maine and Vermont and physical anthropology in Guatemala. This work has been the basis of numerous publications in various national and international books and journals as well as in media intended for the general public. His books include The Original Vermonters, coauthored with Marjorie Power, and a technical monograph on ancient Maya settlement. He also served as technical consultant for the award winning telecourse, Faces of Culture, and is coeditor of the series Tikal Reports, published by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Besides his teaching and writing, Dr. Haviland has lectured to numerous professionals, as well as, non-professional audiences in Canada, Mexico, Lesotho, South Africa and Spain and the United States. A staunch supporter of indigenous rights, he served as expert witness for the Missisquoi Abenakis of Vermont in an important court case over aboriginal fishing rights. Awards received by Dr. Haviland include being named University Scholar by the Graduate School of the University of Vermont in 1990, a Certificate of Appreciation from the Sovereign Republic of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, St. Francis/Sokoki Band in 1996, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Center for Research in Vermont in 2006. Now retired from teaching, he continues his research, writing and lecturing from the coast of Maine.

Harald E.L. Prins (Ph.D. New School 1988) is a University Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at Kansas State University and guest curator at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Born in The Netherlands, he studied at universities in Europe and the United States. He has done extensive fieldwork among indigenous peoples in South and North America, published dozens of articles in five languages, co-edited some books, and authored "The Mi'kmaq: Resistance, Accommodation, and Cultural Survival" (1996). He also made award-winning documentaries and served as president of the Society for Visual Anthropology and visual anthropology editor of the "American Anthropologist." Dr. Prins has won his university's most prestigious undergraduate teaching awards and held the Coffman Chair for University Distinguished Teaching Scholars (2004-05). Most recently, Dr. Prins was selected as Professor of the Year for the State of Kansas by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Active in human rights, he served as expert witness in Native rights cases in the U.S. Senate and various Canadian courts, and was instrumental in the successful federal recognition and land claims of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs (1991).

Dr. Dana Walrath is Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Vermont and a Women's Studies affiliated faculty member. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and is a medical and biological anthropologist with principal interests in biocultural aspects of reproduction, the cultural context of biomedicine, genetics, and evolutionary medicine. She directs an innovative educational program at the University of Vermont's College of Medicine that brings anthropological theory and practice to first year medical students. Before joining the faculty at the University of Vermont in 2000, she taught at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Health Resources and Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and the Templeton Foundation. Dr. Walrath's publications have appeared in "Current Anthropology," "American Anthropologist" and "American Journal of Physical Anthropology". An active member of the Council on the Anthropology of Reproduction, she has also served on a national committee to develop women's health care learning objectives for medical education and works locally to improve healthcare for refugees and immigrants.

Bunny McBride (M.A. Columbia U, 1980) is an award-winning writer specialized in cultural anthropology, indigenous peoples, international tourism, and natural conservation issues. Published in dozens of national and international print media, she has reported from Africa, Europe, China, and the U.S. Highly rated as a teacher, she served as visiting anthropology faculty at Principia College (1981-2002), the Salt Institute for Documentary Field Studies, and since 1996 as adjunct lecturer of anthropology at Kansas State University. McBride’s many publications include "Women of the Dawn" (1999) and "Molly Spotted Elk: A Penobscot in Paris" (1995). Collaborating with Native communities in Maine, she curated various museum exhibits based on her books. The Maine state legislature awarded her a special commendation for significant contributions to Native women’s history (1999). A community activist and researcher for the Aroostook Band of Micmacs (1981-91), she assisted this Maine Indian community in its successful efforts to reclaim lands, gain tribal status, and revitalize cultural traditions. Currently, McBride serves as co-principal investigator for a National Parks Service ethnography project, guest curator for an exhibition on the Rockefeller Southwest Indian Art Collection, oral history advisor for the Kansas Humanities Council, and board member of the Women's World Summit Foundation, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Reader Reviews
The Essence of Anthropology does a great job of taking a very readable and approachable tone. Unfortunately, the authors sling their biases everywhere, making a big mess all over the text. A book of this nature should be written from a disinterested perspective. The authors write it from a hyper-liberal perspective. For instance, they refrain from judging cultures based on marriage practices. Arranged marriages in India are fine and dandy. Polygyny is cast in a positive light. But as soon as you get to same-sex marriage, you get this series of paragraphs: "The arguments most commonly marshaled by opponents of same-sex unions are, first, that marriage has always been between males and females, but as we have just seen, this is not true. Same-sex marriages have been documented not only for a number of societies in Africa but in other parts of the world as well. As among the Nandi, they provide acceptable positions in society for individuals who might otherwise be marginalized. "A second argument against same-sex unions is that they legitimize gays and lesbians, whose sexual orientations have been widely regarded as unnatural. But again, as discussed in earlier chapters, neither cross-cultural studies nor studies of other animal species suggest that homosexual behavior is unnatural. "A third argument, that the function of marriage is to produce children, is at best a partial truth, as marriage involves economic, political, and legal considerations as well...." This happens time and time again. No judgment from our fair-minded intellectual authors until a conservative viewpoint is on the table, in which case it is reduced to their silly understanding of it, beat up, and cast aside. So much for unbiased. The whole book is like this. Anthropology should be about understanding humanity, not trashing Western culture.