Suchergebnisse

"This book is a deep dive into the mutual perceptions of Melanesian peoples, egalitarian societies unknown to Europeans for thousands of years, and successive waves of European explorers, traders, missionaries, and eventual conquerors. Professor Rosman and Professor Rubel have searched travelers' reports for evidence of how the first two centuries of contact were understood by the people of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. Their anthropological history makes use of existing information on political, social, and cultural organization of Melanesian peoples, supplemented by the authors' own comparative ethnography skills and original fieldwork. Striving to find New Irelanders' voice in detailed travelers' accounts, this book also emphasizes the importance of long-standing racist stereotypes (Noble Savage, Wild Man, Cannibal, Utopia) among Europeans with their eyes on building capital in world markets. Their analysis provides a foundation for judging how early contact experiences most likely were interpreted and understood or misunderstood, and strategies accordingly deployed, by both parties to the encounters. The authors' analysis shows how capitalism and colonialism eventually wrought profound changes in the life of New Ireland peoples who seemed for the first 250 years to be in control of their contact situation"--

"The task of the anthropologist is to take ideas, concepts and beliefs from one culture and translate them into first another language, and then into the language of anthropology. This process is both fascinating and complex. Not only does it raise questions about the limitations of language, but it also challenges the ability of the anthropologist to communicate culture accurately. In recent years, postmodern theories have tended to call into question the legitimacy of translation altogether. This book acknowledges the problems involved, but shows definitively that 'translating cultures' can successfully be achieved. The way we talk, write, read and interpret are all part of a translation process. Many of us are not aware of translation in our everyday lives, but for those living outside their native culture, surrounded by cultural difference, the ability to translate experiences and thoughts becomes a major issue. Drawing on case studies and theories from a wide range of disciplines-including anthropology, philosophy, linguistics, art history, folk theory, and religious studies--this book systematically interrogates the meaning, complexities and importance of translation in anthropology and answers a wide range of provocative questions, such as: --Can we unravel the true meaning of the Christian doctrine of trinity when there have been so many translations? --What impact do colonial and postcolonial power structures have on our understanding of other cultures? --How can we use art as a means of transgressing the limitations of linguistic translation? Translating Cultures: Perspectives on Translation and Anthropology is the first book fully to address translation in anthropology. It combines textual and ethnographic analysis to produce a benchmark publication that will be of great importance to anthropologists, philosophers, linguists, historians, and cultural theorists alike."--Bloomsbury Publishing

The following is a report of a pilot study on nomad-sedentary relations viewed in terms of exchange. The study was conducted in the Zagros Mountains of Iran and in the central Hazarajat of Afghanistan during the summer of 1971. The research involved the application in a field situation of a theoretical framework that links exchange and social structure. In previous research we had investigated the relationship between social structure and exchange in societies having a particular kind of exchange system—the potlatch. Utilizing Levi-Strausss approach to structure, we have taken certain kinds of rules, preferential marriage rules or rules of succession, and built models of social structure on the basis of such rules (Levi-Strauss, 1963). These were related to other models based upon the analysis of exchange behavior. In an earlier volume, Feasting with Mine Enemy, we demonstrated the applicability of this approach in our analysis of six Northwest Coast societies by relating their different forms of social structure to the variations they exhibited in their potlatch activity (Rosman and Rubel, 1971). The purpose of the pilot study reported on here was to apply our conceptual framework relating exchange and social structure to more complex social systems.