Book contents
- History and Theory in Anthropology
- History and Theory in Anthropology
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- 1 Visions of Anthropology
- 2 Precursors of the Anthropological Tradition
- 3 Changing Perspectives on Evolution
- 4 Diffusionist and Culture-Area Theories
- 5 Functionalism and Structural-Functionalism
- 6 Action and Process
- 7 Marxist Perspectives
- 8 From Relativism to Cognitive Science
- 9 Structuralism, from Linguistics to Anthropology
- 10 Poststructuralists and Feminists
- 11 Mavericks
- 12 Interpretive Approaches
- 13 Postmodernism and Its Aftermath
- 14 Conclusions
- Book part
- References
- Index
12 - Interpretive Approaches
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 December 2021
Book contents
- History and Theory in Anthropology
- History and Theory in Anthropology
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- 1 Visions of Anthropology
- 2 Precursors of the Anthropological Tradition
- 3 Changing Perspectives on Evolution
- 4 Diffusionist and Culture-Area Theories
- 5 Functionalism and Structural-Functionalism
- 6 Action and Process
- 7 Marxist Perspectives
- 8 From Relativism to Cognitive Science
- 9 Structuralism, from Linguistics to Anthropology
- 10 Poststructuralists and Feminists
- 11 Mavericks
- 12 Interpretive Approaches
- 13 Postmodernism and Its Aftermath
- 14 Conclusions
- Book part
- References
- Index
Summary
We now turn to an utter rejection of structure. Two figures are prominent: Sir Edward Evans-Pritchard and Clifford Geertz. Evans-Pritchard maintained an approach that saw anthropology as akin to history. He rejected anthropology as a science. A better analogy saw anthropology as an exercise in translation. Geertz built on the idea of complex nuance in the study of culture. In other words, he favoured a quest for ‘thick description’.
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- Information
- History and Theory in Anthropology , pp. 166 - 173Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021