Customer Reviews

Anthropological Theory: An Introductory History

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I used this text for an upper division undergraduate course in social theory. In general, I found the selection of articles to be wise and helpful; I didn't use all of them but used more than I would from any other compilation. The book doesn't adequately cover the recent period, but no text could, and the teacher should choose her own supplements to the core texts found herein. Unlike the first reviewer, my students and I found the extensive footnotes to be the book's most valuable resource. They kept the students' attention, contextualized obscure references, and clearly explained more challenging passages. I did not find that these footnotes interfered with the role of the teacher; instead, they freed the class to spend more time in fruitful interrogation of the authors' ideas and less time buried in minutae. I highly recommend this book for teachers of upperdivision theory courses, and for graduate students looking for an unfair advantage on their rivals as they take their core courses.

This book contains works by most of the classic anthropological theorists. And very importantly, it contains footnotes, which are very helpful. However, it contains few current readings. Also, this edition of the book removes some of the better, more current selections from the older edition. If you are looking for a solid anthropological reader, then you can't go wrong with this text, BUT...try and get the earlier edition if you can.

This is a book valuable to the upper division undergraduate and new gratuate student. The authors are very good at showing how the theory underlying anthropological ideas have developed through the writings of the greatest thinkers in different periods of history. A great benefit in this book is the extensive footnotes that are quite helpful to the reader. This text is a must for anyone interested in why anthropologists think the way they do.

I used this text for an anthropological theories course in undergraduate work. It's a pretty decent collection of work from major figures in anthropology.

Spencer, Tylor, and Morgan, Levi-Strauss, Marx, Boas, etc, etc. There is also a lot of work done to try and tie a common thread through as much material as possible. Contextualization of how a theory came to be, and what it might imply are pretty well done. Chances are, you're buying this book for a class, rather than pleasure, and though this can be kind of dry, it's fairly well done. Some selections are puzzling in terms of what they illustrate for that author, but by and large it shouldn't kill you to read this book.

There are footnotes, too. These seem like a blessing to begin with, especially if you don't have much of a foothold in the material, there is a lot that you are caught up on quickly, and it can be very helpful. On the flipside, the editors can be very heavy-handed in guiding the reading, and can be sometimes inane in their commentary. This is the major failing of the book, it's more to read, and the later in the book you get, the less useful it is.

This book contains an excellent selection of essay for the teaching of anthropological theory (more for the graduate than undergraduate level). There are several essays that I would not have included, and several essays I would have added in their place, but this is the inevitable reaction to any anthology. The biggest problem with the book is the copius footnotes that contain the editors' commentaries on the reading materials. While some of these notes are appropriate (the translation of a foreign-language term or a biographical note on a particular thinker cited in the text), the great majority are the editors' summaries, explanations, and evaluations of the text itself. The editors are virtually reading over the students' shoulders telling the students what to see and what to think. These comments betray a lack of trust in the students and their professors. If these notes were removed, Anthropological Theory would be an excellent book. With the commentaries, its quality is dramatically reduced.

Arrived on time and in great condition! It was just like new. The price was great too, I would definitely order from them again.

I placed my order for this book on Tuesday and received it by Friday, so I am very impressed by the quick shipping! The book was in good condition which was what was posted and it is in better condition than many of the used books that were available through my school's bookstore and I got it for about $20 less. I am highly impressed and would buy from this seller again.

The service was fast and the book is in great shape, just as they said it would be. Thank you.

Thanks for the great book. Perfect condition and got here very quickly -- just in time for the test!

How many times have you heard someone say "This is the best theory book ever!" Well, this time it is ture. This is one of the best, well rounded books I have read in a while. They give clear explanations of the theories, and then give you examples of the literature to apply it to. Their footnotes also help clarify points in the examples. I would recommend this to any serious anthropology major, or anyone interested in anthropology.