In his most ambitious and accomplished work to date, Michael Taussig undertakes a history of mimesis, the practice of imitation, and its relation to alterity, the opposition of Self and Other. Drawing upon such diverse sources as theories of Benjamin, Adorno and Horckheimer, research on the Cuna Indians, and theories of colonialism and postcolonialism, Taussig shows that the history of mimesis is deeply tied to colonialism, and more specifically, to the colonial trade's construction of "savages." With analysis that is vigorous, unorthodox, and often breathtaking, Taussig's cross-cultural discussion of mimesis deepens our understanding of the relationship between ethnography, racism and society.
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Taussig's deeply informed anthropological readings present us with a contemporary cabinet of curiosities that informs the longstanding fascination with the primitive in the constitution of the modern, and shocks us, in the spirit of Benjamin, into reconsidering what we thought we had largely dismissed in our concerns with the politics of representation. -- George E. Marcus, Rice University
In Mimesis and Alterity Taussig investigates the contacts between anthropologists and subjects and the world created therein . . . his accounts have the tactility one gets from a good storyteller. -- Artforum
This book can most profitably be read in conjunction with Taussig's provocatice and often original earlier works (e.g. The Devil and Commodity Fetishism) since these provide the details of the historical and cultural stage of mimetic performance. -- Bulletin of Society for the Anthropology of Europe
In Mimesis and Alterity Taussig investigates the contacts between anthropologists and subjects and the world created therein . . . his accounts have the tactility one gets from a good storyteller. -- Artforum
This book can most profitably be read in conjunction with Taussig's provocatice and often original earlier works (e.g. The Devil and Commodity Fetishism) since these provide the details of the historical and cultural stage of mimetic performance. -- Bulletin of Society for the Anthropology of Europe
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12 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
An unsettling and hallucinatory ride through the history of image-making, from the point of first contact between the Old and New Worlds, to the present day. Taussig is among the most original and challenging anthropologists of our time, forcing readers to radically rethink their notions of not only anthropology and the nature of academic inquiry, but of the human condition itself.
A must read!
8 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Kayem
Format:Paperback
I first read this text in undergraduate studies - to this day it remains one of my favourite books.
It is distinguished by Taussig's ability to both blend sharp anthropological insight with nuanced reading of philosophical theory. This strengthens his anthropology and adds to the understanding of key Critical Theory exponents.
He adds rigour to anthropological practice and substance to philosophical theory - both difficult tasks.
A text of great import to the humanities generally.
It is distinguished by Taussig's ability to both blend sharp anthropological insight with nuanced reading of philosophical theory. This strengthens his anthropology and adds to the understanding of key Critical Theory exponents.
He adds rigour to anthropological practice and substance to philosophical theory - both difficult tasks.
A text of great import to the humanities generally.
9 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Taussig has been described as a high theorist writing as a beatnik novelist. A pretty good description, it seems to me. In my eyes, or in my sensuous 'history' of personal awareness, this book appears as a welcomed aid for those familiar with critical theory, from Foucault to Kristeva to Derrida to Bourdieu, etc. He places 'mimesis' within a multitude of contexts, each of which redefines the wor[l]d, the effect of which releases concepts that have become conventional tools for cultural theory from their static availability and performs an invented space (mimetic) that stuns the senses. If writing is a mimetic endeavor (as Taussig claims), then reading this book is equally an opportunity to mimetically become alter to oneself. He's a unique writer, a breathe of fresh air, someone to take your time with.
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