Research Catalog

Title

The anthropology of real life : events in human experience / Philip Carl Salzman.

Author

Salzman, Philip Carl.

Publication

Prospect Heights, Ill. : Waveland Press, ©1999.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

viii, 108 pages; 23 cm

Summary

"The Anthropology of Real Life is about how events push and pull, oppress and liberate, enhance and destroy people's lives. While people are shaped by their cultures and their position in society, events--whether authored by natural forces, by other people, or by people themselves--take on a life of their own, and become independent forces determining human destinies. An anthropology of events shows the way in which the substance and texture of life change over time, as one major event fades and another arises, itself only to fade and be replaced by yet a new event." "Original ethnographic case studies from a Middle Eastern desert and a Mediterranean island illustrate how events interplay with human lives. Broader conclusions are drawn from these rich ethnographic examples through comparative analysis. The Anthropology of Real Life does not offer a new theory or paradigm, but draws on classical and contemporary anthropological works to identify a recognized and proven strategy for understanding people's real lives. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject

• Ethnology > Balochistan Region
• Ethnology > Italy > Sardinia
• Life change events > Case studies
• Ethnology
• Life change events
• Manners and customs
• Dagelijks leven
• Ethnologie > Baloutchistan
• Ethnologie > Sardaigne (Italie)
• Balochistan Region > Social life and customs
• Sardinia (Italy) > Social life and customs
• Italy > Sardinia
• Asia > Balochistan Region
• Baloutchistan > Moeurs et coutumes
• Sardaigne (Italie) > Moeurs et coutumes

Genre/Form

• Case studies.
• Études de cas.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-105) and index.

Contents

1. Introduction: Events in Life and in Context -- When Is an "Event"? -- Where You Are Can Affect the Effects: The Importance of "Position" -- Reacting to Events: Culturally Conditioned Responses -- Cycles, Trends, and Acts of God -- Conclusion: Events and Real Life -- 2. Events in a Middle Eastern Desert -- Desert of Baluchistan -- Migration -- Renegotiating the Social Contract -- Fission -- Drought -- Two Deaths -- Feud -- Encapsulation -- Multiplicity: A Concluding Reflection -- 3. Events on a Mediterranean Island -- Life and Times on a Mediterranean Island -- Daily Life in the Mountain Agrotowns of Ogliastra -- Making a Living -- Families -- Beyond the Nuclear Family -- Everyday Life and Noteworthy Events -- Drought, 1987-88 -- Vendetta, 1990-91 -- Struggle against the National Park, 1991-92 -- Bombing, 1993 -- Allocation of Government Jobs, 1993 -- Forest Fires, 1994 -- Kidnappings, 1995 -- 4. Comparing Events -- Migrating -- Coping with Drought -- Forming Communities -- Feuding and Vendettas -- Encapsulation and Incorporation -- Leveling and Developing -- 5. Anthropology of Events -- Journalism, History, and Anthropology -- Problems of Abstraction and Essentialism -- Talk and Action -- "Events" in Anthropology.

ISBN

• 1577660420
• 9781577660422

LCCN

99192668

OCLC

• ocm40721901
• 40721901
• SCSB-1127281

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library