Bücher von Thomas Hylland Eriksen

Axel Sommerfelt has been an important influence on Norwegian and Scandinavian anthropology, but his contributions are almost unknown. This book brings together some of his critical writings, newly written articles and an interview which positions him in the history of 'North Sea' social anthropology and shows his continued relevance. An Africanist, Sommerfelt did research in Ruwenzori (Uganda and Belgian Congo), but also wrote about the Tallensi (Ghana) and worked for years in Salisbury (Harare) before being evicted by Ian Smith's racist regime in 1966. His contributions to political anthropology, methodology and legal anthropology have a lasting value.

This open access book includes socio-anthropological and anthropo-sociological conversations between one of the world's leading anthropologists, Thomas Hyland Eriksen, and a young scholar, using his groundbreaking "overheating" approach.This book includes socio-anthropological and anthropo-sociological conversations between one of the world's leading anthropologists, Thomas Hyland Eriksen, and a young scholar, using his groundbreaking "overheating" approach. From the pandemic to the spread of nationalism, from the Anthropocene to the Homogenocene, the authors discuss the most urgent issues of current society: e.g., the loss of biological and cultural diversity owing to the forces of globalisation; and the emergence of new forms of diversity through globalisation and migration; the intersectional dimension of climate change; the incredible rising of anger demonstrations around the world and resentful, overheated identities often linked to right-wing nationalism; the way digital devices have changed the meaning of temporality in people's life-worlds; the regulatory and competitive pressures on universities which are a result of many factors in the intersection of globalisation, massification and marketisation; youth's weakened belief in progress connected to changes in the contemporary world, such as growing inequality, political alienation and environmental destruction; recent pathbreaking research and original theory in sociology and anthropology related to the changes in an overheated world; and what post-Coronavirus social life might become. Highly topical, engaging and written in a conversational style, this book is a must-read for social scientists and discerning lay persons who want a fresh perspective on understanding the critical issues of our time. This is an open access book.

This concise introduction to social and cultural anthropology has become a modern classic, revealing the rich global variation in social life and culture. The text provides a clear overview of anthropology, focusing on central topics such as kinship, ethnicity, ritual and political systems, offering a wealth of examples that demonstrate the enormous scope of anthropology and the importance of a comparative perspective. Unlike other texts on the subject, Small Places, Large Issues incorporates the anthropology of complex modern societies. Using reviews of key monographs to illustrate his argument, Eriksen's lucid and accessible text remains an established introductory text in anthropology.This new edition is updated throughout and increases the emphasis on the interdependence of human worlds. There is a new discussion of the new influence cultural studies and natural science on anthropology. Effortless bridging the perceived gap between "e;classic"e; and "e;contemporary"e; anthropology, Small Places, Large Issues is as essential to anthropology undergraduates as ever.

The world is overheated. Too full and too fast; uneven and unequal. It is the age of the Anthropocene, of humanity's indelible mark upon the planet. In short, it is globalisation - but not as we know it.*BR**BR*In this groundbreaking book, Thomas Hylland Eriksen breathes new life into the discussion around global modernity, bringing an anthropologist's approach to bear on the three interrelated crises of environment, economy and identity. He argues that although these crises are global in scope, they are perceived and responded to locally, and that contradictions abound between the standardising forces of information-age global capitalism and the socially embedded nature of people and local practices.*BR**BR*Carefully synthesising the ethnographic and comparative methods of anthropology with macrosocial and historical material, Overheating offers an innovative new perspective on issues including energy use, urbanisation, deprivation, human (im)mobility, and the spread of interconnected, wireless information technology.

An anthropological study of a community 'marinated' in fossil fuels, fraught by ambivalence and conflict.

Leading anthropologist Thomas Hylland Eriksen shows how anthropology is a revolutionary way of thinking about the human world. Perfect for students, but also for those who have never encountered anthropology before, this book explores the key issues in an exciting and innovative way. Eriksen explains how to see the world from below and from within - emphasising the importance of adopting an insider's perspective. He reveals how seemingly enormous cultural differences actually conceal the deep unity of humanity. Lucid and accessible, What is Anthropology? draws examples from current affairs as well as anthropological studies. The first section presents the history of anthropology, its unique research methods and some of its central concepts, such as society, culture and translation. Eriksen shows how anthropology helps to shape contemporary thinking and why it is inherently radical. In the second section he discusses core issues in greater detail. Reciprocity, or exchange, or gift-giving, is shown to be the basis of every society. Eriksen examines kinship in traditional societies, and shows why it remains important in complex ones. He argues nature is partly cultural, and explores anthropological views on human nature as well as ecology. He delves into cultural relativism and the problem of understanding others. Finally, he describes the paradoxes of identity - ethnic, national, religious or postmodern, as the case may be.

Looking at why the discipline has not gained the popularity and respect it deserves in the twenty-first century, this title takes the anthropological community to task for its unwillingness to engage more proactively with the media in a wide range of debates. It makes a plea for positioning anthropology as the universal intellectual discipline.

This is the first book to cover the entire history of social and cultural anthropology in a single volume. Beginning with a summary of the discipline in the nineteenth century, exploring major figures such as Morgan and Tylor, it goes on to provide a comprehensive overview of the discipline in the twentieth century.The bulk of the book is devoted to themes and controversies characteristic of post First World War anthropology, from structural functionalism via structuralism to hermeneutics, cultural ecology, discourse analysis and, most recently, globalization and postmodernism. The authors emphasise throughout the need to see changes in the discipline in a wider social, political and intellectual context. This is a timely, concise history of a major discipline, in an engaging and thought-provoking narrative, that will appeal to students of anthropology worldwide.

'While reading Tyranny of the Moment, I found myself both charmed and challenged. The subject is an important one, and Thomas Hylland Eriksen handles it with style, a light touch, and many amiable provocations.' Todd GitlinThe turn of the millennium is characterized by exponential growth in everything related to communication - from the internet and email to air traffic. Tyranny of the Moment deals with some of the most perplexing paradoxes of this new information age. Who would have expected that apparently time-saving technology results in time being scarcer than ever? And has this seemingly limitless access to information led to confusion rather than enlightenment?Eriksen argues that slow time - private periods where we are able to think and correspond without interruption - is now one of the most precious resources we have. Since we are theoretically 'online' 24 hours a day, we must fight for the right to be unavailable - the right to live and think more slowly. It is not only that working hours have become longer - Eriksen also shows how the logic of this new information technology has permeated every area of our lives. Exploring phenomena such as the internet, wap telephones, multi- channel television and email, Eriksen examines this non-linear and fragmented way of communicating to reveal how it affects working conditions in the economy, changes in family life and, ultimately, personal identity. Eriksen argues that a culture lacking a sense of its past, and therefore of its future, is effectively static. Although solutions are suggested, he demonstrates that there is no easy way out.

Mauritius is the focus for this study of social identity and political culture. The book seeks to enhance comparative understanding of ethnicity, to refine theories of nationalism, and to contribute to ongoing debates on multiculturalism, identity politics and creolization.