• ISBN13: 9780192853462
• Binding: Paperback
• Subject: Sociology and Anthropology
• Publisher: Oxford UP
• Publisher Imprint: Oxford UP
• Publication Date: July 14, 2000
• Pages: 176
• Original Price: GBP 9.99
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 140 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): Anthropology / Cultural & Social

Social & Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction is a book that helps its readers in understanding the basics of anthropology. It helps them find out more about the nature of work that anthropologists do. Social & Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction is an introduction into the world of anthropology. Its main purpose is to help a person with no background on anthropology to understand the subject. It combines the main methodologies and principles of anthropology with a large number of illustrations and examples of anthropologists. The book begins by explaining the most important contributions anthropology has given to modern thinking. As the book progresses, it shows readers the way culture is viewed upon as a distinctively human characteristic. It discusses how the doctrine of anthropology is based on cultural relativism, its ethnography and methodology for field work. The book progresses to examine how humanity’s understanding of the various facets of society has been advanced by anthropology. Using examples from past social structures that existed in every society, this book tries to make itself easily understood. The book uses fairly simple language while explaining the various concepts of anthropology. It explains how society has changed and how human thinking has evolved. The book uses real-life examples to explain the various concepts which are put forward. The authors use their own fieldwork to explain concepts, making even the toughest of concepts understandable. Social & Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction is a simple-to-understand book for beginners who want to grasp the world of anthropology. It is a good starting point for the novice anthropologist and can also be used for reference by someone who is well versed in the subject. The book was published by Oxford University Press and in 2000. It is available in paperback.

Peter Just has done extensive research among the Dou Donggo of Sumbawa Island in Indonesia. His research interests include dispute settlement and law, kinship and social organization, and religion ritual. He is the author of Dou Donggo Justice: Conflict and Morality in an Indonesian Society, and is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Williams College.
Over the last twenty years John Monaghan has carried out a number of ethnographic research projects among the indigenous people of Mexico and Guatemala. His most recent book on the subject is The Covenants With Earth and Rain: Exchange, Sacrifice, and Revelation in Mixtec Sociality. He is currently a professor at Vanderbilt University.