Customer Reviews

Mimesis and Alterity: A Particular History of the Senses

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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.

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!

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.