Customer Reviews

Introducing Anthropology

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I've read several excellent books in this series, which means that this "cartoon" format can work well in the hands of a skilled author, but this particular book is quite disappointing.

The primary problem is simply that the book drops plenty of terminology, names, and dates, thus giving the impression that something is being said with some sophistication, but it turns out that no topic is covered beyond a superficial level. Compounding this problem is the fact that the book jumps abruptly from topic to topic, with no apparent overall structure or integration, so the presentation is quite fragmentary. The result of these problems is that reading this book feels like reading a glossary rather than a coherent monograph.

Moreover, those who are new to the subject of anthropology are unlikely to learn much, and might even form a poor impression of what should be a fascinating and engaging subject. Part of the fault may be attributable to confusions within academic anthropology itself (maybe the general study of mankind is just too hard), but I still think this book has to take much of the blame.

Perhaps the only upside is that you can finish the book quickly, but a little bit of time wasted is still wasted time.

I am a big fan of the "Introducing" series and in most cases find them to be entertaining as well as edifying. I was a bit disappointed with the the anthropology one in that it tends to radically jump from one topic to another with each flip of a page. Also, like a lot of particularly boring contemporary anthropology, it spends too much time reflecting on the criticisms of anthropology and way too little time on the usefulness of the information collected and analyzed by anthropologists. To write that "Anthropology has not assisted in equalizing power or disparities in wealth between the West and the Other (sic)..." (pg. 171) is both plain poppycock in that much of what anthropology does elevates the visiblity and power of people in diverse cultures, and is ridiculous in assuming that anthropologists have the numbers or power to influence governments and international capital. It is like blaming the Shakers for the moral decline of the world.
I suspect much of my criticism is due to the impossibility of using the format of the "Introducing" series to cover a topic as broad as anthropology. I liked the Levi-Strauss and the Noam Chomsky books in the series, but I think it is inherently easier to create a coherent introduction to single scholars.

This is kind of a neat book, but not what I was looking for. It's a VERY basic comic book of sorts to give you a very general idea of anthropology terms and ideas. If you're looking for an anthro for dummies type thing, this isn't it.