Description
Book SynopsisWithin anthropology, as elsewhere in the human sciences, there is a tendency to divide knowledge making into two separate poles: conceptual (theory) vs. empirical (ethnography). In Theory Can Be More than It Used to Be, Dominic Boyer, James D. Faubion, and George E. Marcus argue that we need to take a step back from the assumption that we know what theory is to investigate how theorya matter of concepts, of analytic practice, of medium of value, of professional ideologyoperates in anthropology and related fields today. They have assembled a distinguished group of scholars to diagnose the state of the theory-ethnography divide in anthropology today and to explore alternative modes of analytical and pedagogical practice.Continuing the methodological insights provided in Fieldwork Is Not What It Used to Be, the contributors to this volume find that now is an optimal time to reflect on the status of theory in relation to ethnographic research in anthropology
Trade Review
"Theory Can Be More than It Used to Be illuminates and jeopardizes notions long central to anthropology. Fieldwork and ethnography have both come under much more thorough scrutiny than theory. This book explores the complexities, resonances, and possibilities of theory in relation to contemporary and near-future anthropology. It opens up complex and challenging terrain and provides us with the analytical wherewithal for thinking through—and with—questions of what theory can be and how it can shape and be shaped by the field. Lucid, fascinating, exceptionally engaging, and highly sophisticated, this book is a major contribution to key debates within and beyond anthropology." -- Don Brenneis, University of California, Santa Cruz, coeditor of Annual Review of Anthropology
"The essays in Theory Can Be More than It Used to Be are well crafted; they draw on vibrant ethnographic material and a creative rendering of social and cultural theory in relation to the abiding imperatives of anthropology. This book sets out a rich variety of approaches that will constitute points of departure for scholarly discussions, research, and pedagogy going forward. It is by no means an exaggeration to say the fate of the discipline of anthropology rests on the questions posed here. There are three no better and more respected anthropologists than Dominic Boyer, James D. Faubion, and George E. Marcus to speak authoritatively to these profound concerns and challenges." -- Douglas R. Holmes, Binghamton University, author of Integral Europe: Fast-Capitalism, Multiculturalism, Neofascism
Table of Contents
Introduction: New Methodologies for a Transformed Discipline
by Dominic Boyer and George E. MarcusPart I. Ethnography, Fieldwork, Theorization1. Portable Analytics and Lateral Theory
by Dominic Boyer and Cymene Howe2. On Programmatics
by James D. Faubion3. The Ambitions of Theory Work in the Production of Contemporary Anthropological Research
by George E. Marcus4. Theorizing the Present Ethnographically
by Andreas Glaeser5. Trans-formations of Biology and of Theory
by Kaushik Sunder Rajan6. Figuring Out Theory: Ethnographic Sketches
by Kim FortunPart II. Pedagogy, Training, Analytical Method7. ResponsesTheory as Parallax and Provocation
by Andrea BallesteroUndisciplined Engagements: Anthropology, Ethnography, Theory
by Lisa BregliaTheory Making: From the Raw to the Cooked
by Jessica Marie FalconePeople in Glass Cages (Shouldn't Throw Theoretical Stones)
by Jamer HuntEthnography and Social Theory: A Dialectic to Hang Our Hats On
by Townsend MiddletonTheory as Method
by Deepa S. Reddy8. DialogueEncountering and Engaging Theory (or Not)
Theory in the Positive Sense of the Term
Teaching Theory and Analytical MethodAfterword: On the Need to Reinvent Anthropological Teaching and Training in Theory
by Dominic BoyerNotes
Bibliography
Contributors
Index
