Suchergebnisse

This is an account of the life and work of a person who was trained as an anthropologist in the University of Calcutta and then made his career in a department of sociology in the University of Delhi, where he is now professor emeritus. The career, in both teaching and research, described here has been built on the presumption of the unity of sociology and social anthropology, whereas in the West, and particularly in the United States, the disciplines are organized on the presumption of their separation. In this article I have discussed my relations with colleagues and students from both India and overseas. The bias in favor of the unity of sociology and social anthropology present throughout my work comes naturally to someone who takes for granted the unity of India, which is a very large country encompassing the most diverse range of social formations.

I should like to pay my tribute to the memory of Kingsley Martin by calling in question a part of the conventional wisdom of what passes for comparative sociology. I hope I shall not appear unduly contentious in doing so. I should not like to speak badly of comparative sociology. At the same time, it has to be admitted that a truly comparative sociology exists less in the work that scholars actually do than in the ideals they profess. The principal obstacle to its growth is, in my opinion, neither lack of wit nor lack of words: it is prejudice.