› › A Polymath Anthropologist

A Polymath Anthropologist

Author : Ann Chowning

Publisher : Department of Anthropology University of Auckland

Page : 288 pages

File Size : 28,2 MB

Release : 2005

Category : Biography & Autobiography

ISBN :

Get eBook

Book Description

This volume honours Ann Chownings contributions to anthropology as a whole and to the anthropology of Melanesia in particular. It reflects the scope of her interests by bringing together a wide range of scholars and topics. A biographical narrative (by Judith Huntsman) of her life to date traces her career and there is a comprehensive bibliography of her works (Kathryn Creely). The essays deal primarily with issues in Oceania, except for two addressing one of her favourite pasttimes detective fiction, as a source of innovative word formation (Laurie Bauer) and its parallels to ethnography (Claudia Gross). Three archaeology essays discuss stone artefacts in Papua New Guinea (Pamela Swadling, Jim Specht, Susan Buhner), and one essay surveys dental morphology in Oceania (Daris R. Swindler). Essays in linguistics range from surveys of Oceanic plant names (Malcolm Ross), Proto Micronesian (Ward II. Goodcnough) and Proto Oceanic (Andrew Pawley) to detailed analyses of the languages of Tokelau (Robin Hooper) and Aneityum (John Lynch). The largest section consists of essays in socio-cultural anthropology, combining themes that have been the focus of Ann Chowning's work: marriage and social organisation, gender and sexuality, social and economic change, leadership, religion, myth and human-animal relations. These essays include a survey of anthropology in Oceania (Harriet D. and Andrew P. Lyons) and cover Polynesia (Phyllis Herda, Judith Huntsman, Penelope Schoeffel), New Zealand (Joan Metge, Julie Park), the Solomon Islands (Christine Dureau) and Papua New Guinea (John Barker, Mark Busse, Michael Monsell-Davis, Mark Mosko, Maev O'Collins, Marilyn Strathern). There are also essays recollecting Ann Chowning as a teacher, colleague and friend (Jane C. Goodale, Virginia Greene, Harriet D. Lyons, Luisa Margolies, James Urry, Michael W. Young).



The Polymath

Author : Peter Burke

Publisher : Yale University Press

Page : 353 pages

File Size : 46,44 MB

Release : 2020-09-01

Category : Biography & Autobiography

ISBN : 0300250029

Get eBook

Book Description

The first history of the western polymath, from the fifteenth century to the present day From Leonardo Da Vinci to John Dee and Comenius, from George Eliot to Oliver Sacks and Susan Sontag, polymaths have moved the frontiers of knowledge in countless ways. But history can be unkind to scholars with such encyclopaedic interests. All too often these individuals are remembered for just one part of their valuable achievements. In this engaging, erudite account, renowned cultural historian Peter Burke argues for a more rounded view. Identifying 500 western polymaths, Burke explores their wide-ranging successes and shows how their rise matched a rapid growth of knowledge in the age of the invention of printing, the discovery of the New World and the Scientific Revolution. It is only more recently that the further acceleration of knowledge has led to increased specialisation and to an environment that is less supportive of wide-ranging scholars and scientists. Spanning the Renaissance to the present day, Burke changes our understanding of this remarkable intellectual species.



The Polymath

Author : Bensalem Himmich

Publisher : American University in Cairo Press

Page : 259 pages

File Size : 41,9 MB

Release : 2009-03-01

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 1617972010

Get eBook

Book Description

This award-winning historical novel deals with the stormy life of the outstanding Arab philosopher Ibn Khaldun, using historical sources, and particularly material from the writer's works, to construct the personal and intellectual universe of a fourteenth-century genius. The dominant concern of the novel the uneasy relationship between intellectuals and political power, between scholars and authority addresses our times through the transparent veil of history. In the first part of the novel, we are introduced to the mind of Ibn Khaldun as he dictates his work to his scribe and interlocutor. The second part delves into the heart of the man and his retrieval of a measure of happiness and affection in a remarriage, after the drowning of his first wife and their children at sea. Finally we see Ibn Khaldun as a man of action, trying to minimize the imminent horrors of invading armies and averting the sack of Damascus by Tamerlane, only to spend his last years lonely and destitute, having been fired from his post as qadi, his wife having gone to Morocco, and his attempts at saving the political situation having come to nil. "The elusive simplicity and fluency of style manage to entertain and instruct at once. We learn as we read about Ibn Khaldun: his insights into history and historiography, his views of the rise and fall of civilizations, the principles of his sociological thinking, along with intimate aspects of his life, including his tragic losses and his attitude toward women. We also learn of his response to the major crisis of his time, the Tatar invasion of the Mashriq. In short, Ibn Khaldun, the distant and formidable figure, is humanized thanks to this novel." Naguib Mahfouz Medal Award Committee



The Polymath

Author : Waqas Ahmed

Publisher : John Wiley & Sons

Page : 250 pages

File Size : 38,38 MB

Release : 2019-01-04

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN : 1119508517

Get eBook

Book Description

Every human is born with multifarious potential. Why, then, do parents, schools and employers insist that we restrict our many talents and interests; that we 'specialise' in just one? We've been sold a myth, that to 'specialise' is the only way to pursue truth, identity, or even a livelihood. Yet specialisation is nothing but an outdated system that fosters ignorance, exploitation and disillusionment and thwarts creativity, opportunity and progress. Following a series of exchanges with the world’s greatest historians, futurists, philosophers and scientists, Waqas Ahmed has weaved together a narrative of history and a vision for the future that seeks to disrupt this prevailing system of unwarranted ‘hyper-specialisation.’ In The Polymath, Waqas shows us that there is another way of thinking and being. Through an approach that is both philosophical and practical, he sets out a cognitive journey towards reclaiming your innate polymathic state. Going further, he proposes nothing less than a cultural revolution in our education and professional structures, whereby everyone is encouraged to express themselves in multiple ways and fulfil their many-sided potential. Not only does this enhance individual fulfilment, but in doing so, facilitates a conscious and creative society that is both highly motivated and well equipped to address the complexity of 21st century challenges.



The Scope of Anthropology

Author : Laurent Dousset

Publisher : Berghahn Books

Page : 296 pages

File Size : 12,81 MB

Release : 2012-04-01

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 0857453327

Get eBook

Book Description

Some of the most prominent social and cultural anthropologists have come together in this volume to discuss Maurice Godelier’s work. They explore and revisit some of the highly complex practices and structures social scientists encounter in their fieldwork. From the nature–culture debate to the fabrication of hereditary political systems, from transforming gender relations to the problems of the Christianization of indigenous peoples, these chapters demonstrate both the diversity of anthropological topics and the opportunity for constructive dialogue around shared methodological and theoretical models.



Repatriating Polanyi

Author : Chris Hann

Publisher : Central European University Press

Page : 388 pages

File Size : 32,68 MB

Release : 2019-07-18

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN : 9633862884

Get eBook

Book Description

Karl Polanyi’s “substantivist” critique of market society has found new popularity in the era of neoliberal globalization. The author reclaims this polymath for contemporary anthropology, especially economic anthropology, in the context of Central Europe, where Polanyi (1886–1964) grew up. The Polanyian approach illuminates both the communist era, in particular the “market socialist” economy which evolved under János Kádár in Hungary, as well as the post-communist transformations of property relations, civil society and ethno-national identities throughout the region. Hann’s analyses are based primarily on his own ethnographic investigations in Hungary and South-East Poland. They are pertinent to the rise of neo-nationalism in those countries, which is theorized as a malign countermovement to the domination of the market. At another level, Hann’s adaptation of Polanyi’s social philosophy points beyond current political turbulence to an original concept of “social Eurasia”.



The Heroic Anthropologist Rides Again

Author : Frank A. Salamone

Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Page : 101 pages

File Size : 44,72 MB

Release : 2012-04-25

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 1443839604

Get eBook

Book Description

This collection of papers, presented at the 2011 American Anthropological Association meetings in Montreal, Canada, represent the beginning of the anthropological investigation of the way in which anthropologist have been portrayed in popular culture. Frank A. Salamone provides an overview of the field today, looking for depictions of anthropologists in various genres – film, fiction, TV, and everyday life. The contributors look at specific portrayals of anthropologists in popular media, including using popular fiction to teach anthropology. The work is lively, accessible, and profound.



Bioarchaeology

Author : Jane E Buikstra

Publisher : Routledge

Page : 653 pages

File Size : 18,41 MB

Release : 2017-03-02

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 1315432919

Get eBook

Book Description

The core subject matter of bioarchaeology is the lives of past peoples, interpreted anthropologically. Human remains, contextualized archaeologically and historically, form the unit of study. Integrative and frequently inter-disciplinary, bioarchaeology draws methods and theoretical perspectives from across the sciences and the humanities. Bioarchaeology: The Contextual Study of Human Remains focuses upon the contemporary practice of bioarchaeology in North American contexts, its accomplishments and challenges. Appendixes, a glossary and 150 page bibliography make the volume extremely useful for research and teaching.



Civic Insecurity

Author : Vicki Luker

Publisher : ANU E Press

Page : 357 pages

File Size : 23,17 MB

Release : 2010-12-01

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 1921666617

Get eBook

Book Description

Papua New Guinea has a complex ‘law and order’ problem and an entrenched epidemic of HIV. This book explores their interaction. It also probes their joint challenges and opportunities—most fundamentally for civic security, a condition that could offer some immunity to both.



Introducing Sociolinguistics

Author : Miriam Meyerhoff

Publisher : Routledge

Page : 486 pages

File Size : 48,30 MB

Release : 2018-08-06

Category : Language Arts & Disciplines

ISBN : 0429018770

Get eBook

Book Description

This third edition of Miriam Meyerhoff’s highly successful textbook provides a solid, up-to-date appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of the field and covers foundation issues, recent advances and current debates. It presents familiar or classic data in new ways, and supplements the familiar with fresh examples from a wide range of languages and social settings. It clearly explains the patterns and systems that underlie language variation in use, as well as the ways in which alternations between different language varieties index personal style, social power and national identity. New features of the third edition: Every chapter has been revised and updated with current research in the field, including material on sexuality, polylanguaging and lifespan change; Additional Connections with theory and Facts: No, really? are included throughout; Data from sign languages, historical linguistics and Asia-Pacific sociolinguistics have been revised and expanded; A brand new companion website featuring more examples and exercises can be found at www.routledge.com/textbooks/meyerhoff. Chapters include exercises that enable readers to engage critically with the text, break-out boxes making connections between sociolinguistics and linguistic or social theory, and brief, lively add-ons guaranteed to make the book a memorable and enjoyable read. With a full glossary of terms and suggestions for further reading, this text gives students all the tools they need for an excellent command of sociolinguistics. It can also be used in conjunction with The Routledge Sociolinguistics Reader, Doing Sociolinguistics and the online resources shared by all three books.