First published in English 1960. The historical value of Hertz's writings is that they are a representative example of the culmination of two centuries of development of sociological thought in France, from Montesquieu to Durkheim and his pupils. In the intervening years since publication, that development has grown into the systematic comparative study of primitive institutions, based on a great body of ethnographic facts from all over the world: in effect social anthropology.

The New York Times Editor's ChoiceThe Economist Best Book of 2010A Financial Times Best Book of 2010A Library Journal Best Book of 2010“An informative, pleasurable read… A gifted writer, Deutscher picks his way nimbly past overblown arguments to a sensible compromise.”—The Boston GlobeFrom Homer to Darwin, from Yale to the Am...

Following on from The Beast and the Sovereign, Volume I, this book extends Jacques Derrida’s exploration of the connections between animality and sovereignty. In this second year of the seminar, originally presented in 2002–2003 as the last course he would give before his death, Derrida focuses on two markedly different texts: Heidegger’s 1929–1930 course The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics, and Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. As he moves back and forth betwe...

This book is not about myths, but about approaches to myth, from all of the major disciplines, including science, religion, philosophy, literature, and psychology. The fate of the preternaturally beautiful Adonis is one of the main fables upon which Segal focuses, in an attempt to analyse the various different theories of myth. Where the theory does not work, he substitutes another myth, showing that, for all their claims to all-inclusiveness, certain theories, in fact, only apply to speci...

From the preeminent anthropologist, a landmark exploration of how culture shapes human society“Shrewd and often illuminating."—New York TimesOver his storied career, Clifford Geertz pioneered ground-breaking approaches to anthropology, arguing that interpreting and analyzing cultural symbols was central to understanding a wide range of societies. In Local Knowledge, he revisits and expands the core ideas that reshaped an e...

Among the natives of Kiriwina, death is the starting point of two series of events which run almost independently of each other. Death affects the deceased individual; his soul (baloma or balom) leaves the body and goes to another world, there to lead a shadowy existence. His passing is also a matter of concern to the bereft community. Its members wail for him, mourn for him, and celebrate an endless series of feasts. These festivities consist, as a rule, in the distribution of uncooked fo...

Gathering for the first time all of Claude Lévi-Strauss’s writings on Japanese civilization, The Other Face of the Moon forms a sustained meditation into the French anthropologist’s dictum that to understand one’s own culture, one must regard it from the point of view of another.Exposure to Japanese art was influential in Lévi-Strauss’s early intellectual growth, and between 1977 and 1988 he visited the country five times. The essays, lectures, and interviews of this volum...

In "Modern Mythology," Andrew Lang deftly explores the intricate tapestry of myths that continue to shape contemporary thought and culture. Using a blend of erudite analysis and engaging prose, Lang dissects various myths from around the world, revealing their psychological, sociological, and historical significance. The book places itself firmly within the burgeoning field of comparative mythology, drawing upon extensive research and cross-cultural examples that illuminate the enduring po...

Marshall Sahlins centers these essays on islands—Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand—whose histories have intersected with European history. But he is also concerned with the insular thinking in Western scholarship that creates false dichotomies between past and present, between structure and event, between the individual and society. Sahlins's provocative reflections form a powerful critique of Western history and anthropology.

The following commentaries regard the edition of Latvian Dainas and Vedic Hymns, published in Latvian. This monograph presents a broadened scope and discussion of Baltic and Vedic languages

A brilliant work about animism and its connection to various fields of religion. This ebook is not a cheap scanned version of the original but has been completely revised, including an interactive table-of-contents. CONTENTS: 1. Pre-Human Elements In Religion 2. Brain In Animal And Man 3. Man In The Making 4. Animal And Human Psychology 5. Naturalism; Or Conception Of Power Everywhere 6. Animism; Or Conception Of Spirit Everywhere 7. Theories Of The Nature Of Spirit 8. Spirits In Inanimate...

An English translation of Hegel's introduction to his lectures on the philosophy of history, based directly on the standard German edition by Johannes Hoffmeister, first published in 1955. The previous English translation, by J. Sibree, first appeared in 1857 and was based on the defective German edition of Karl Hegel, to which Hoffmeister's edition added a large amount of new material previously unknown to English readers, derived from earlier editors. In the introduction to his lectures,...