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5 - Functionalism and Structural-Functionalism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 December 2021

Alan Barnard
Alan Barnard
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
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Summary

The functionalism of Malinowski and the structural-functionalism of Radcliffe-Brown were the dominant paradigms of anthropology in early twentieth-century Britain. This chapter explores these from their roots in Durkheimian sociology to more recent times. Emile Durkheim introduced the idea of the organic analogy (society is like an organism); Bronislaw Malinowski the idea of functionalism through fieldwork; and A. R. Radcliffe-Brown the notion of a natural science model and theories of totemism.

Keywords

Durkheimian sociologyfunctionalismstructural-functionalism
Type
Chapter
Information
History and Theory in Anthropology , pp. 62 - 80
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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