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  1. Home
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  3. About the House
  • Cited by 353
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
June 2012
Print publication year:
1995
Online ISBN:
9780511607653
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511607653
Subjects:
Social and Cultural Anthropology, Anthropology, Anthropological Theory
Information

Book description

The domestic unit is inseparable from its homestead, and the 'house', at once a physical place and a social unit, is often also a unit of production and consumption, a cult group, and even a political faction. Inspired by Lévi-Strauss's suggestion that the multi-functional noble houses of medieval Europe were simply the best-known examples of a widespread social institution, the contributors to this collection analyse 'house' systems in Southeast Asia and South America, exploring the interrelationships between buildings, people, and ideas. They reveal some of the ways in which houses can stand for social groups and serve as images of process and order.

Reviews

‘The essays … are replete with fascinating data that fulfil a central promise of contemporary anthropology … at a time when fewer and fewer detailed ethnographies seem to be published.’

Source: Book Review Essays

‘Mark this volume as another milestone in the rehabilitation of kinship studies. About the House is a worthwhile collection that both implements and critically evaluates Lévi-Strauss’s notion of the ‘house society’ in studies drawn from Southeast Asia and Amazonia. For both the teacher and the scholar, this book is worth the reading.’

Peter Gose - University of Regina

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