Full Product Details
Author: Glynn Custred
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint: Lexington Books
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 2.00cm
, Length: 22.80cm
Weight: 0.404kg
ISBN: 9781498507653
ISBN 10: 1498507654
Pages: 266
Publication Date: 15 September 2017
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
In a time when the theoretical and mythological approaches in anthropology appear to have the aim of fragmenting anthropology, Glynn Custred s A History of Anthropology as a Holistic Science traces the epistemological history of holism that binds anthropology as one discipline.--Douglas W. Hume, Northern Kentucky University; Treasurer, Society for Anthropological Sciences
This is a deeply 'foursquare,' unoriginal history of the discipline of four field American anthropology, from its rise in the 19th century to its intellectual climax from the mid through the late 20th century. This straightforwardness defines the book's primary usefulness as a teaching tool in introductory courses. Regardless of personal passion or version of the telling of American anthropology's history in terms of current stakes, teachers can easily work with this text with its clear prose and coverage of physical anthropology, archaeology, sociocultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, culture areas, and holism. Deeply imbued with a certain historical faith and pleasure in the discipline, the book blessedly refrains from being too preachy or annoyed with recent 'turns.' The discipline as a whole has given what Custred has needed to be a first-rate Andeanist. But what of the many anthropologists today who define themselves outside the traditional 'culture areas'? They can still learn much from this book. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. * Choice Reviews * The book is highly readable and clearly argued, offering broad coverage of a plethora of authors, theories, schools, and fieldwork in four national traditions.... I found Glynn Custred’s book both enjoyable and provocative.... [H]is history of the holistic ideal in anthropology is...a welcome contribution to the reflexive awareness of the historicity and theory-laden character of knowledge, an awareness which is essential to the anthropologists’s training and trade. As a plea for the holistic ideal the book also constitutes relevant early 21st-century source material for epistemological analysis itself. * Anthropos * Custred provides a remarkably broad and deep history of anthropology. In response to those who call for a split between the traditional four-fields of anthropology, Custred demonstrates that, from its very beginnings, the most important anthropology has been done by scholars who practiced in a four-field framework. Custred shows that even some of the more humanistically-oriented anthropologists have made the argument that anthropology must be a holistic discipline. It is a strong work, and deserves a prominent place in courses on the history of anthropology. -- Peter Peregrine, Lawrence University It is with commendable clarity and economy of exposition that this work encompasses anthropology's unique eclectic character and far-reaching breadth of focus. The author's purview ranges from the discipline's roots in European intellectual thought and the Second Scientific Revolution to its contemporary topical and theoretical diversity. Drawing on his own field research in the highlands of Peru, Dr. Custred provides the reader with a tangible sense of immediacy and a vivid and intimate example of the ethnographic experience. -- Andrei Simic, University of Southern California In a time when the theoretical and mythological approaches in anthropology appear to have the aim of fragmenting anthropology, Glynn Custred’s A History of Anthropology as a Holistic Science traces the epistemological history of holism that binds anthropology as one discipline. -- Douglas W. Hume, Northern Kentucky University; Treasurer, Society for Anthropological Sciences
Author Information
Glynn Custred is professor emeritus of anthropology at California State University, East Bay.
