Current theories and views on the differences in the 'mind' of human societies depend very much on a dichotomy between 'advanced' and 'primitive', or between 'open' and 'closed', or between 'domesticated' and 'savage', that is to say, between one of a whole variety of 'we-they' distinctions. Professor Goody argues that such an approach prevents any serious discussion of the mechanisms leading to long-term changes in the cognitive processes of human cultures or any adequate explanation of the changes in 'traditional' societies that are taking place in the world around us. In this book he attempts to provide the framework for a more satisfactory explanation by relating certain broad differences in 'mentalities' to the changes in the means of communication, and specifically to the series of shifts involved in the development of writing. The argument is based upon theoretical considerations, as well as empirical evidence derived from recent fieldwork in West Africa and the study of a wide range of source material on the ancient societies of the Near East.
FREE Two-Day Shipping for Students. Learn more |
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Special Offers and Product Promotions
- Buy $50 in qualifying physical textbooks, get $5 in Amazon MP3 Credit. Here's how (restrictions apply)
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Provides a framework for explaining long-term changes in the cognitive processes of human cultures and `traditional' society taking place in the world around us.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Mind Opening Book,
By
This review is from: The Domestication of the Savage Mind (Themes in the Social Sciences) (Paperback)
I ran across this title in the bibliography of Jean Bottero's book on Mesopotamia, and am I glad I did. It's short, readable and incisive. In pursuit of the main subject, how literacy alters culture and consciousness, Mr. Goody takes us through a sharp critique of anthropological theory and literature, particularly dualist reductions in classification. Then he examines modern transitions from oral to literate culture in West Africa, and most interesting to me, brings us back to the birth of writing and classification in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. Some trip! This book is not just for social science grad students.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
They way in which modes of thought have changed over time and space is a subject on which most of us have speculated at some time or other. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
early writing systems, lexical lists, primitive classification, symbolic classification Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Northern Ghana, West Africa, Ancient Greece, Western Europe, Old Babylonian, Egyptian Onomastica, Middle East, Chou Chin, Fertile Crescent, Grand Dichotomy, Joseph Needham, Old Testament New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
They way in which modes of thought have changed over time and space is a subject on which most of us have speculated at some time or other. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
early writing systems, lexical lists, primitive classification, symbolic classification Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Northern Ghana, West Africa, Ancient Greece, Western Europe, Old Babylonian, Egyptian Onomastica, Middle East, Chou Chin, Fertile Crescent, Grand Dichotomy, Joseph Needham, Old Testament New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 75
books:
See all 75 books this book cites
100
books
cite this book:
See all 100 books citing this book
- Primitive Classification by Emile Durkheim in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Myth, Literature and the African World (Canto) by Wole Soyinka on page 1, and Back Matter
- Culture and Practical Reason by Marshall Sahlins in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Literacy in Traditional Societies by Jack Goody in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Glencoe (IL) (Images of America) by Ellen Kettler Paseltiner in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 75 books this book cites
- The Social History of Language (Cambridge Studies in Oral and Literate Culture) by Peter Burke on 5 pages
- The Artless Jew: Medieval and Modern Affirmations and Denials of the Visual. by Kalman P. Bland on 4 pages
- Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion by William Albert Graham in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- In Search of Wisdom: Essays in Memory of John G. Gammie by Leo G. Perdue on page 197, page 214, and page 215
- Pour en finir avec les mentalités by G. E. R. (Geoffrey Ernest Richard) Lloyd on page 65, and Back Matter
See all 100 books citing this book
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
