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Sometimes we convey what we mean not by what we say but by what we do. This type of indirect communication is sometimes called 'indirection'. From patent miscommunication, through potent ambiguity to pregnant silence this incisive collection examines from a rare anthropological perspective the many aspects of indirect communication. From a Mormon Theme Park to carnival time on Montserrat the contributors analyse indirection by illustrating how food, silence, sunglasses, martial arts and rudeness call constitute powerful ways of conveying meaning. An Anthropology of Indirect Communication is an engaging text which provides a challenging introduction to this subject.
The Scottish Parliament opened in 1999. Since this devolution of powers, there has been an increase in the demand for empirically-based, policy relevant, comparative research to help design policies and determine their impact.
Many Westerners view Islam as a religion that restricts and subordinates women in both private and public life. Yet a surprising number of women in Western Europe and America are converting to Islam. What attracts these women to a belief system that is markedly different from both Western Christianity and Western secularism? What benefits do they gain by converting, and what are the costs? How do Western women converts live their new Islamic faith, and how does their conversion affect their families and communities? How do women converts transmit Islamic values to their children? These are some of the questions that Women Embracing Islam seeks to answer. In this vanguard study of gender and ...
As Rome extended its influence throughout Italy, gradually incorporating its various peoples in a process of Romanization and conquest, its religion was extensively influenced by the cults of religious practices of its new subjects and citizens. It was a period of intense religious ferment and creativity. Roman religion, controlled and determined by religious and political functionaries who mediated between humans, had centred on a select pantheon of gods with Jupiter at its head. It was a religion in the process of becoming the servant of the state, however genuine its priests and votaries might be. Understanding the dynamics of religious change is fundamental to understanding the changing culture and politics of Rome during the last five centuries B.C. Religion in Archaic and Republic Rome and Italy tells that story.
The aim of this book is to explore the current research into the ways in which Andean peoples create, transmit, maintain and transform their knowledge in culturally significant ways, and how processes of teaching and learning relate to these. The contributions, from eminent researchers in anthropology, sociology, cultural studies and linguistics, include cross-disciplinary approaches, and cover a diverse geographic area from Ecuador to Peru, Bolivia and Northern Chile. The case studies reflect on the variously harmonious and conflictive relationships between knowledge, power, communicative media and cultural identities in Andean societies, from within local, national and global perspectives.
A major concern in current anthropological thinking is that the method of recording or translating into writing a society's cultural expressions--dance, rituals, pottery, the social use of space, et al--cannot help but fundamentally alter the meaning of the living words and deeds of the culture in question. Consequently, recent researchers have developed more dialogic methods for collecting, interpreting, and presenting data. These new techniques have yielded much success for anthropologists working in Latin America, especially in their efforts to understand how economically, politically, and socially subordinated groups use culture and language to resist the dominant national culture and to assert a distinct historical identity. This collection addresses these issues of "texts" and textuality as it explores various Latin American languages and cultures.
In the Andean city of Otavalo, Ecuador, a cultural renaissance is now taking place against a backdrop of fading farming traditions, transnational migration, and an influx of new consumer goods. Recently, Otavalenos have transformed their textile trade into a prosperous tourist industry, exporting colorful weavings around the world. Tracing the connections among newly invented craft traditions, social networks, and consumption patterns, Rudi Colloredo-Mansfeld highlights the way ethnic identities and class cultures materialize in a sensual world that includes luxurious woven belts, powerful stereos, and garlic roasted cuyes (guinea pigs). Yet this case reaches beyond the Andes. He shows how local and global interactions intensify the cultural expression of the world's emerging "native middle classes," at times leaving behind those unable to afford the new trappings of indigenous identity. Colloredo-Mansfeld also comments on his experiences working as an artist in Otavalo. His drawings, along with numerous photographs, animate this engaging study in economic anthropology.
The Oxford Handbook of Decision-Making comprehensively surveys theory and research on organizational decision-making, broadly conceived. Emphasizing psychological perspectives, while encompassing the insights of economics, political science, and sociology, it provides coverage at theindividual, group, organizational, and inter-organizational levels of analysis. In-depth case studies illustrate the practical implications of the work surveyed.Each chapter is authored by one or more leading scholars, thus ensuring that this Handbook is an authoritative reference work for academics, researchers, advanced students, and reflective practitioners concerned with decision-making in the areas of Manage...
Based on the analysis of 52 conversion narratives to various religious groups, A New Model of Religious Conversion utilizes case studies for comparison of converts' backgrounds, network influence, and conversion narratives. The author convincingly illustrates a "fit" between the converts' background and the religion they convert to, such as between disorganized family backgrounds and highly structured religions. Conversely, those from highly structured backgrounds often convert to more "open" groups. The book also makes it clear that not all conversions are influenced by networks or align themselves with a social constructivist view of a conversion as an "account." Taking converts' trajectories seriously, the author makes a strong case for the application of biographical sociology to the study of conversion and (American) sociology overall.