Self Consciousness: An Alternative Anthropology of Identity [Paperback]

Anthony Cohen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415083249 | ISBN-13: 978-0415083249 | Publication Date: November 28, 1994

Traditionally the self and the individual have been treated as micro-versions of larger social entities by the social sciences in general, and by anthropology in particular. In Self Consciousness, Cohen examines this treatment of the self, arguing that this practice has resulted in the misunderstanding of social aggregates precisely because the individual has been ignored as a constituent element. By acknowledging the individual's self awareness as author of their own social conduct and of the social forms in which they participate, this informs social and cultural processes rather than the individual being passively modelled by them.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (November 28, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415083249
• ISBN-13: 978-0415083249
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,594,330 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not THAT bad..., June 22, 2005

By 

B. J. C. White "in search of the lost chord" (Christchurch, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS CL (Hardcover)

Whilst I agree to a certain extent with the previous reviewer about the fact that this book is basically a dialogue with anthropological theory, I must confess that when I read it I didn't expect it to be anything else. I don't believe Cohen pretends to be writing a critique of contemporary society (although his trenchant and pungent remarks re political individualism as expressed in the Thatcherite rhetorics of 80s Britain seem to be a nod in that direction). The central thrust of this book is exactly what the title suggests: that anthropological treatments of identity require a better self-consciousness on the part of the anthropologist. its part of trend in the direction of reflexive ethnography that actually takes account of the positionality - the life story if you like - of the anthropologist. If you want to give an account of others, you ought reasonably be expected to give an account of yourself, and to explain how the first is contingent on the second.
And no, it didn't make my head hurt.
I give it about 3.5 stars, really. This is a book about anthropology - if you're not interested in anthropology, and how the discipline works, don't buy it.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Academic Abstraction, May 3, 2004

By 

G. (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Self Consciousness: An Alternative Anthropology of Identity (Paperback)

If you're a university professor who likes to philosophize and/or wants to impress other university professors, or are a university student with similar goals, this is a good book for you. If you're looking for something applicable, or tied to modern real-world society, it'll just make your head hurt.

The book basically just pits anthropological theorists against one another, with a couple of tie-ins to tribal case studies. There is a -great- deal of theorist name-dropping which a beginning reader will not understand. The book finishes with a couple of adamant theoretical statements about academic concepts that don't clearly tie in to or suggest any "real world" course of action.

As abstract academic books go, though, I will say that the subject matter is interesting and the writing could be a lot worse.