Search results for ""altamira press""

Dr. Hannah Green—heroine of Praetzellis's textbook-as-novel Death by Theory—has really gotten herself into trouble this time. The spunky archaeologist has been asked to manage the contract archaeology project at a historic site in New Zealand when the regular archaeological staff of University of Invercargill abruptly dies off. On the scene, Hannah discovers she needs to teach her team about research design, survey methods, archival research, professional ethics, curation, and especially field safety, if they are to complete the contract before young Mr. Wallace levels the site in favor of a golf course. With a cast of characters that includes Missy-Jojo-the-Dog-Faced-Girl as lab supervisor, erotic romance writer and field volunteer Elena Solara, the ghost of socialite Bunny Wallace, and shovelbum Rusty Spittle, Praetzellis' brief textbook-as-novel introduces students to the hows and whys of field methodology in an entertaining but informative way. Ideal for your introductory archaeology classes and probably the only textbook you'll enjoy reading yourself.

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Two longtime fieldworkers offer mentors' advice on finding and mapping archaeological sites. They outline the logic behind field surveying and the various designs used for survey projects. Recognizing that logistical issues—like schedule, budget, and equipment—are equally important to complete the job, particularly in a cultural resource management context, the authors also guide new professionals through the practical details of their work. The volume also ranges through the legal and ethical context of fieldwork and the various geophysical methods available for non-intrusive surveying. As a handy guide for novices, or a text for students and field schools, Collins and Molyneaux's book will be the place to start.

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Anthropologists have routinely overlooked the practice of body therapists, one of the primary providers of "traditional" medicine. Healing by Hand presents the first cross-cultural primer on manual medicine studies. As a particular modality of healing, manual medicine has reached a high level of popularity and importance as its practitioners investigate the body's important capacities for self-healing. The authors describe how manual medicine takes numerous forms across the world's communities, in urban and rural, as well as Western and non-Western, contexts, in individual and community lives. Though frequently overshadowed and challenged by allopathic practitioners, body workers continue to help the sick and injured reach their health goals. In this book, the individual ethnographic analyses of manual medicine describe beliefs and practices about healing, physical and psychological states, and the relation between culture and health. Given the therapeutic training of many of the authors, Healing by Hand should be a fascinating resource for manual practitioners of western medicine, including massage therapists, physical therapists, chiropractors, and osteopaths, as well as those with traditional training. It is especially recommended for various courses such as Medical Anthropology, Health and Human Culture, Technology and the Developing World, Sociology of Health, International Health, and Health Care Systems.

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Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Concerning Children reflects her innovative thinking on the social and economic construction of motherhood. In this volume, she takes on American society at its core principles: the betterment of our society through the development of our children. Gilman attacks our conventional model of child rearing, one based on obedience and discipline, rather than on the development of creativity and individuality. She responds to popular practices such as the corporal punishment of children, and proposes new and radical ways of child-rearing including social motherhood, which frees women to pursue careers. Presciently observing more than a century ago that it takes an entire village to raise a child, Gilman's Concerning Children is a must-read for anyone interested in gender and family studies.

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Before California is the first comprehensive look at the history of the Golden State prior to the arrival of European settlers. Written by America's best known archaeological trade and textbook author, the book describes the process of settlement of the Pacific Coast by Paleo-Indians and the environmental and human transformations of the next 13,000 years, emphasizing themes of adaptation, interconnectedness, and spirituality. More than a rehashing of received wisdom, Fagan explores the controversies surrounding the first human settlement, then describes the first peoples to colonize the Pacific coast and offshore islands, their watercraft and fishing practices. The transformation from a gathering economy to acorn processing and hunting is highlighted, as is the increasing social complexity, gender differentiation, and intensification of intergroup conflict and trade. Individual chapters describe distinctive societies in widely contrasting environments—northwest salmon fishers, Bay area shell mound communities, Central Valley wetland villagers, desert foragers, and the sophisticated coastal societies of the Channel Islands region. Fagan also devotes a chapter to California's rock art, melding his description with wider cultural events. Calling upon a century of archaeological research, Fagan provides an jargon-free, well-illustrated account accessible to the general public interested in the early history and indigenous peoples of the state. Before California also makes an ideal textbook for courses in California history, archaeology, and native peoples.

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Aunger proposes a solution to a fundamental debate in contemporary ethnography: the source of ethnographic authority. He advocates the method of reflexive analysis as a new way of doing ethnography and making it a more effective scientific endeavor. Reflexive Ethnographic Science constitutes a foil to those in cultural studies and related fields who deride the possibility of verifiable ethnographic representations. Aunger's new work promises to reinvigorate ethnographic research and methods by a unique combination of traditional and postmodern objectives, through the reflexive achievement of authority. He explains how reflexive analysis requires changes in standard ethnographic practice in terms of data collection, analysis, and presentation. Using this method, the author offers a case study of the food taboos in a multi-ethnic population in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which includes pygmy foragers and their horticulturalist Bantu neighbors. This book is a valuable tool for graduate level courses in ethnographic method and theory, and a key reference for researchers in the social sciences who employ interviewing, participant observation methods, and multivariate statistical models, including anthropology, sociology, and psychology.

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Aunger proposes a solution to a fundamental debate in contemporary ethnography: the source of ethnographic authority. He advocates the method of reflexive analysis as a new way of doing ethnography and making it a more effective scientific endeavor. Reflexive Ethnographic Science constitutes a foil to those in cultural studies and related fields who deride the possibility of verifiable ethnographic representations. Aunger's new work promises to reinvigorate ethnographic research and methods by a unique combination of traditional and postmodern objectives, through the reflexive achievement of authority. He explains how reflexive analysis requires changes in standard ethnographic practice in terms of data collection, analysis, and presentation. Using this method, the author offers a case study of the food taboos in a multi-ethnic population in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which includes pygmy foragers and their horticulturalist Bantu neighbors. This book is a valuable tool for graduate level courses in ethnographic method and theory, and a key reference for researchers in the social sciences who employ interviewing, participant observation methods, and multivariate statistical models, including anthropology, sociology, and psychology.

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As a nation we bring many perspectives to our commemorative places and our ideas may change over time, especially on difficult topics like slavery and racism. Why a place is saved and how it is interpreted to visitors has much to do with our collective memory of the events that took place there. Using the skills of an archaeologist and a historian, Paul Shackel examines four well-known Civil War-era National Park sites and shows us how public memory shaped their creation and continues to shape their interpretation. Shackel shows us that 'public memory' is really 'public memories,' and interpretation may change dramatically from one generation to another as interpreters try to accommodate, or ignore, certain memories. Memory in Black and White is important reading for all who are interested in history and memory of landscapes, and will be especially useful to those involved in preserving and interpreting a controversial place. Visit the author's web page Visit the UMD Heritage Program web page

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Long before the sexual revolution, Albert Ellis and Ira L. Reiss had been writing about sexuality in America. In the 1950s, the two social scientists began to exchange letters on their views of sexuality and other related values such as religion and ethics. Their letters reveal the insight of two leading sexual scientists at the very time that the sexual revolution was dawning in America. They provide a fascinating chronicle of the controversial sexual and other issues of the 1950s and 1960s. At the same time they enrich this early correspondence by revealing in depth just how and why their current views of sexuality in America have changed. Visit Ira L. Reiss's web page

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From intimate workshops and modest gatherings to meetings in exotic places, conferences are a mainstay of academic life. The conferences that are the subject of this book are the week-long international symposia sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, over 150 of which were held between 1952 and 2000. In their totality, they closely parallel the development of anthropology during this period, and indeed played a large part in shaping that development. In revisiting her experiences with the Wenner-Gren symposia over a thirteen-year period, Sydel Silverman examines the conference process as it relates to the production of knowledge and new directions in anthropology.

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This new volume from the Society for Economic Anthropology examines the unique contributions of anthropologists to general economic theory. Editor Jean Ensminger and other contributors challenge our understanding of human economies in the expanding global systems of interaction, with models and analyses from cross-cultural research. They examine a broad range of theoretical concerns from the new institutionalism, debates about wealth, exchange, and the evolution of social institutions, the relationship between small producers and the wider world, the role of commodity change and the formal/informal sector, and the role of big theory. The book will be a valuable resource for anthropologists, economists, economic historians, political economists, and economic development specialists. Published in cooperation with the Society for Economic Anthropology. Visit their web page.

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One night, anthropologist Cathy Winkler awoke from a deep sleep to discover a rapist standing by her bed. For the rest of that night, she lived a woman's worst nightmare as she was repeatedly raped and beaten by the stranger. The event changed her life into something resembling a Kafka novel: a justice system that bungled the case then blamed the victim, a social service system that provided no services or comfort, uneasy and awkward friends, exploitative media, and insensitive university administrators and colleagues. The pain of those four hours was dwarfed by the frustration of her decade-long fight to find the rapist and bring him to justice, ultimately through one of the first successful uses of DNA evidence in a rape case. Winkler, a brilliant observer and ethnographer, chronicles this struggle here—including her own growing awareness of her power to stare down district attorneys, to use the media to her own ends (including segments on 48 Hours and Court TV), and, ultimately through her persistence, to put the rapist behind bars for life. As a story of triumph over adversity, One Night is an inspirational work. And it provides a model of how researchers can turn the lens inward and incisively examine ourselves and our own world.

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What does rock art say about gender and how can our understanding of gender shape the way that we view rock art? A significant contribution to the relatively unexplored field of gender in rock art, this volume contains a wealth of information for archaeologists, anthropologists, and art historians interested in past gender systems. Hays-Gilpin argues that art is at once a product of its physical and social environment and at the same time a tool of influence in shaping behavior and ideas within a society. Taking this stance, rock art is shown to be very often one of the strongest lines of evidence avaliable to scholars in understanding ritual practices, gender roles, and ideologicial constructs of prehistoric peoples. Subsequently issues of representation and the people who made these forms of art are also discussed.

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Ancient Maya Political Economies examines variation in systems of economic production and exchange and how these systems supported the power networks that integrated Maya society. Chapters in this book take a hard look at existing models of elite exchange and tribute and address the difficult question of how the flow of utilitarian goods supported Maya kingdoms and their ruling classes. Using models originally developed by William L. Rathje, the authors explore core-periphery relations, the use of household analysis to reconstruct political economy, and evidence for market development. In doing so, they challenge the conventional wisdom of decentralized Maya political authority and replace it with a more complex view of the political economic foundations of Maya civilization.

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Marietta Stepaniants' introductory text allows a distinctively Eastern way of thinking to come forth. Four interpretive essays open the book showing how Indian, Chinese and Islamic traditions responded to these questions: How did philosophy arise? What is the origin of order in the universe? What is human nature? What is truth? A fifth, unique, essay shows how Eastern thought has dealt with Western contact in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the second half of the book, original writings—ancient and modern—are placed in their cultural context by the author and give access to the thinkers' specific arguments. Unlike any other text, Introduction to Eastern Thought includes Islamic philosophies alongside Indian and Chinese traditions. This broader sense of 'the East,' the combination of interpretive essays and original sources, the sense of Eastern philosophies as alive and ongoing, are unrivalled by any other textbook. Comparisons within and across traditions make Introduction to Eastern Thought an excellent text for students familiar with Western philosophy or beginning philosophy students.

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Weaving together her most influential writings of the 1990s, Bronwyn Davies offers a unique engagement with poststructuralism that defies the boundaries between theory and embodied practice. Whereas poststructuralists are often accused of excessive abstraction, Davies' sophisticated and nuanced discussions of subjectivity, agency, epistemology, feminism, and power are embedded in vital depictions of lived experience and empirical research. A renowned scholar of education and gender formation, Davies shows the importance of poststructural perspectives for her own research in classrooms, on playgrounds, with literary texts, and her own life history. Lucid prose—accessible for students and refreshing for researchers and theorists alike—makes postructural concepts usable as conceptual frameworks for interpreting and analyzing the social world.

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Weaving together her most influential writings of the 1990s, Bronwyn Davies offers a unique engagement with poststructuralism that defies the boundaries between theory and embodied practice. Whereas poststructuralists are often accused of excessive abstraction, Davies' sophisticated and nuanced discussions of subjectivity, agency, epistemology, feminism, and power are embedded in vital depictions of lived experience and empirical research. A renowned scholar of education and gender formation, Davies shows the importance of poststructural perspectives for her own research in classrooms, on playgrounds, with literary texts, and her own life history. Lucid prose—accessible for students and refreshing for researchers and theorists alike—makes postructural concepts usable as conceptual frameworks for interpreting and analyzing the social world.

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From the street corners of the North End of Boston to the Basque regions of Spain, renowned sociologist William Foote Whyte has been a pioneer in developing methods and theories that have changed and expanded the way that we look at social structures and the individuals within them. Now, Whyte passes on his experience and knowledge with a look at problems he encountered in the field, and how he was able to overcome them. This book is both a guide through the practical and conceptual complexities and problems associated with fieldwork, as well as a look back on the life of one of the most interesting and important sociologists of our time.

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In this thought-provoking reader of largely new or newly revised articles, scholars link ethnicity to language, nationalism, localism, religion and other issues in various crucial areas around the globe: former Yugoslavia, Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, Sri Lanka, Southeast and East Asia, Africa and Latino communities in the United States. An important professional resource and an excellent teaching tool for courses in anthropology and ethnic studies.

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The second edition of Archaeological Ethics is an invitation to an ongoing and lively discussion on ethics. In addition to topics such as looting, reburial and repatriation, relations with native peoples, and professional conduct, Vitelli and Colwell-Chanthaphonh have responded to current events and news stories. Twenty-one new articles expand this ongoing discussion into the realm of intellectual property, public outreach, archaeotourism, academic freedom, archaeological concerns in times of war, and conflicting values. These compelling articles, from Archaeology Magazine, American Archaeology, and Expedition are written for a general audience and provide a fascinating introduction to the issues faced every day in archaeological practice. The article summaries, discussion and research questions, and suggestions for further reading_particularly helpful given the vast increase in related literature over the last decade_serve as excellent teaching aids and make this volume ideal for classroom use.

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Distinguished anthropologist George Marcus and his co-author Fernando Mascarenhas engage in a new experiment in anthropological writing. Ocasião reveals the key relationship between anthropologist and subject through the letters and commentaries exchanged between Marcus and Mascarenhas, Marques of Fronteira and Alorna in Portugal. The authors discuss the persistence and survival of the contemporary Portuguese nobility, who serve as witnesses to important transitions in modern Portuguese history. The epistolary form is the medium of this innovative ethnography, and will stimulate a new critique of ethnographic genres, originating in the work of James Clifford and Marcus in Writing Culture. This new book will appeal to readers concerned with anthropological methods and fieldwork; the anthropology of elites, and a diverse European and American community of scholars interested in Portuguese culture.

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Archaeological research of the Near East lags behind other regions in its consideration of gender-related issues in its treatment of the past. Diane Bolger's present work contributes to the nascent research that aims to fill this gap. Gender in Ancient Cyprus examines some of the fundamental facets of gender as they intersect with the dynamics of social, political, and economic change in Cyprus, beginning with the earliest traces of human habitation on the island to the final phases of the Bronze Age. The book closely analyzes gender as it relates to the domestic space, technology and labor, ritual and social identity, and the roles of children, as well as the practices of modern day Near Eastern archaeology and the roles of women in it. Parallels are drawn to more developed cases elsewhere in the world. This volume is important for scholars and students interested in gender-sensitive interpretations of the archaeological record and in the ways that gender reshapes its present practices.

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Prompted by the overt omission of Muncie's black community from the famous community study by Robert S. Lynd and Helen Merrell Lynd, Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture, the authors initiated this project to reveal the unrecorded historical and contemporary life of Middletown, a well-known pseudonym for the Midwestern city of Muncie, Indiana. As a collaboration of community and campus, this book recounts the early efforts of Hurley Goodall to develop a community history and archive that told the story of the African American community, and rectify the representation of small town America as exclusively white. The authors designed and implemented a collaborative ethnographic field project that involved intensive interviews, research, and writing between community organizations, local experts, ethnographers, and teams of college students. This book is a unique model for collaborative research, easily accessible to students. It will be a valuable resource for instructors in anthropology, creative writing, sociology, community research, and African American studies.

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Gaining access is a critical part of doing research, not only because one must 'get in' in order to gain information, but also because the quality of access affects what information is available to the researcher. Despite its importance, the literature on qualitative methods has not yet provided an extensive treatment of this issue. Gaining Access fills the void by offering useful, prescriptive advice on how to successfully enter different field settings for interviewing and observation. The detailed methodological guidelines presented by the authors are reinforced in a set of case studies by expert researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds on a wide variety of formal and informal settings, from working with ethnic minorities in Bosnia to studying prisons, sex workers, welfare offices, and the clergy. This book will provide useful ideas to experienced qualitative researchers as well as invaluable advice to novices conducting their first study.

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This handbook gathers original, authoritative articles from leading archaeologists to compile in a single place the latest thinking about archaeological methods. Topics range from theoretical models undergirding research to concrete strategies for field work and laboratory analysis. Public archaeology topics such as curation, collaboration, funding, and publication are also included among the 34 chapters in the book. Chapters are authored by well-known scholars on both sides of the Atlantic including Fagan, Hodder, Chippindale, Kvamme, McManamon, and many others. An extensive bibliography accompanies each chapter. As a single reference for current information on contemporary archaeological field methods, this volume is unmatched.

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Gold. Copper. Iron. Metal working in Africa has been the subject of both public lore and extensive archaeological investigation. Here, four of the leading contemporary researchers on this topic attempt to provide a complete synthesis of current debates and understandings: Where, how, and when was metal first introduced to the continent? How were iron and copper tools, implements, and objects used in everyday life, in trade, in political and cultural contexts? What role did metal objects play in the ideological systems of precolonial African peoples? Substantive chapters address the origins of metal working and the technology and the various uses and meanings of copper and iron. An ethnoarchaeological account in the words of a contemporary iron worker enriches the archaeological explanations. This book provides a comprehensive, timely summary of our current knowledge.

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As with the other volumes of The Inclusive Bible, The Inclusive Writings strives to ground its translation in tradition, while seeking to open the Scriptures to all contemporary readers. Following the division of the Hebrew Scriptures, The Inclusive Writings contain wisdom literature, poetry, histories, and prophecies. Together with Volume I: The Torah and Volume II: The Prophets, and this Volume III: The Writings completes the whole of the The Inclusive Hebrew Scriptures.

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In Europe it was called the Age of Discovery. To the rest of the world, it often meant slavery, epidemic disease, cultural genocide, and wholesale social and economic changes. What happened in the period when Europe first came in contact with the rest of the world? In this new edition of Brian Fagan's Clash of Cultures, the best-selling author offers a series of fascinating cases on the impact of cultural contact, including cultures such as those of the Huron fur traders, South African Khoi Khoi, Tahitians, Japanese, and Aztecs. Each case provides a description of the pre-European culture, the short-term impacts of European contact, and long-term changes caused by the clash of two cultures. Fagan also explores the many advances in the general literature on this period such as the 'people without history,' world systems analysis, and the debate over Captain Cook. Ideal for courses in cultural anthropology, world history, historical archaeology, ethnic studies, or area studies, as well as for the general reader.

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The agricultural world of Old Testament Israel swarmed with animals—birds, insects, fish, pack animals, pets, animals for hunting, and domesticated herds of sheep, goats, and cattle. Using information from the Bible, Ancient Near Eastern documents, anthropology, and archaeology, Borowski synthesizes what we know about the use of animals in biblical times for food, clothing, transportation, and even cultic practices. This comprehensive catalog is a convenient desk resource for any reader_whether biblical scholar, archaeology student, or layperson. Essays on pastoral systems, cult, and agricultural economics, makes this also an important tool for researchers.

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The theme of this volume is change, specifically the dynamic relationship between physical landscapes and economic practices. The contributors to Economies and the Transformation of Landscape consider the relationship between the environment and human activity—from different perspectives and with regard to varied timescales—to arrive at various understandings of economical-ecological transformations and what they can reveal about human culture. While each chapter stands on its own, offering detailed insights into particular cases, the volume as a whole challenges us to think broadly, and reflexively, about how human action affects the environment and changes to the environment affect human action.

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The dead are still with us. Contemporary therapists and counselors are coming to understand what's been known for millennia in most religions and in most cultures outside the Western milieu: it's important to continue bonds between the living and the dead. Taking these connections seriously, Goss and Klass explore how bonds with the dead are created and maintained. In doing so, they unearth a fascinating new way to look at the origins and processes of religion itself. Examining ties to dead family members, teachers, religious and political leaders across religious and secular traditions, the authors offer novel ways of understanding grief and its role in creating meaning. Whether for classes in comparative religion and death and dying, or for bereavement counselors and other trying to make sense of grief, this book helps us understand what it means to feel connected to those dead but not lost.

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Following the ordering of the Palestinian canon, The Inclusive Prophets includes the twelve minor prophets along with the Isaiah, Jeremiah and the historical books of Samuel and Kings. This second volume of the Inclusive Hebrew Scriptures follows the same commitment to inclusiveness, justice and readability as the other volumes in the Inclusive Bible. Together with Volume I: The Torah, and Volume III: The Writings, this Volume I: The Torah completes the whole of the The Inclusive Hebrew Scriptures. Together with Volume I: The Torah and Volume III: The Writings, this completes the whole of the Inclusive Hebrew Scriptures.

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When asked their religious identification, more people answer 'none' in the Pacific Northwest than in any other region of the United States. But this does not mean that the region's religious institutions are without power or that Northwesterners who do attend no place of worship are without spiritual commitments. With no dominant denomination, Evangelicals, Mainline Protestants, Catholics, Jews, adherents of Pacific Rim religious traditions, indigenous groups, spiritual environmentalists, and secularists must vie or sometimes must cooperate with each other to address the regions' pressing economic, environmental, and social issues. One cannot understand this complex region without understanding the fluid religious commitments of its inhabitants. And one cannot understand religion in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska without Religion and Public Life in the Pacific Northwest.

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The free exercise of conscience is under threat in the United States. Already the conservative bloc of the Supreme Court is reversing the progress of religious liberty that had been steadily advancing. And this danger will only increase if more conservative judges are nominated to the court. This is the impassioned argument of Religion on Trial. Against Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Chief Justice Rehnquist, the authors argue that what the First Amendment protects is the freedom of individual conviction, not the rights of sectarian majorities to inflict their values on others. Beginning with an analysis of the origins of the Constitution and then following the history of significant church-state issues, Religion on Trial shows that the trajectory of American history has been toward greater freedoms for more Americans: freedom of religion moving gradually toward freedom of conscience regardless of religion. But in the last quarter-century, conservatives have gained political power and they are now attempting to limit the ability of the Court to protect the rights of individual conscience. Writing not just as scholars, but as advocates of church-state separation, Hammond, Machacek, and Mazur make the strong case that every American needs to pay attention to what is happening on the Surpeme Court or risk losing the liberties of conscience and religion that have been gained so far.

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This new edition of the first comprehensive feminist, theoretical synthesis of the archaeological work on gender reflects the extensive changes in the study of gender and archaeology over the past 8 years. New issues—such as sexuality studies, the body, children, and feminist pedagogy—enrich this edition while the author updates work on the roles of women and men in such areas as human origins, the sexual division of labor, kinship and other social structures, state development, and ideology. Nelson provides examples from gender-specific archaeological studies worldwide to examine such traditional myths as woman the gatherer, the goddess hypothesis, and the Amazon warriors, replacing them with a more nuanced, informed treatment of gender based on the latest research. She also examines the structure of the archaeology in her attempt to understand and change a discipline that has made women all but invisible both as researchers and objects of research. Honored as a Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Book, Nelson's work will continue to be the benchmark for archaeologists interested in gender as a subject of research and in the profession.

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Should researchers of spirituality and religion be distantly 'objective,' or engaged and active participants? The traditional paradigm of 'methodological agnosticism' is increasingly challenged as researchers emphasize the benefits of direct participation for understanding beliefs and practices. Should academic researchers 'go native,' participating as 'insiders' in engagements with the 'supernatural,' experiencing altered states of of consciousness? How do academics negotiate the fluid boundaries between worlds and meanings which may change their own beliefs? Should their own experiences be part of academic reports? Researching Paganisms presents reflective and engaging accounts of issues in the academic study of religion confronted by anthropologists, psychologists, sociologists, historians and religious studies scholars_as researchers and as humans_as they study contemporary Pagan religions. The insights that contributors gain, with resultant changes to their own lives, will fascinate not only other scholars of Pagan religions, but scholars of any religion and indeed anyone who grapples with issues of reflexive research.

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Anthropologists have routinely overlooked the practice of body therapists, one of the primary providers of 'traditional' medicine. Healing by Hand presents the first cross-cultural primer on manual medicine studies. As a particular modality of healing, manual medicine has reached a high level of popularity and importance as its practitioners investigate the body's important capacities for self-healing. The authors describe how manual medicine takes numerous forms across the world's communities, in urban and rural, as well as Western and non-Western, contexts, in individual and community lives. Though frequently overshadowed and challenged by allopathic practitioners, body workers continue to help the sick and injured reach their health goals. In this book, the individual ethnographic analyses of manual medicine describe beliefs and practices about healing, physical and psychological states, and the relation between culture and health. Given the therapeutic training of many of the authors, Healing by Hand should be a fascinating resource for manual practitioners of western medicine, including massage therapists, physical therapists, chiropractors, and osteopaths, as well as those with traditional training. It is especially recommended for various courses such as Medical Anthropology, Health and Human Culture, Technology and the Developing World, Sociology of Health, International Health, and Health Care Systems.

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This new collection reveals the vitality of the intellectual and creative work of Native women today. The authors examine the avenues that Native American women have chosen for creative, cultural, and political expressions, and discuss the points of convergence between Native American feminisms and other feminisms. Individual contributors articulate their positions around issues such as identity, community, sovereignty, culture, and representation. This engaging volume crystallizes the myriad realities that inform the authors' intellectual work, and clarifies the sources of inspiration for their roles as individuals and indigenous intellectuals, reaffirming their paramount commitment to their communities and Nations. It will be of great value to Native writers as well as instructors and students in Native American studies, women's studies, anthropology, cultural studies, literature, and writing and composition.

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Brettell's new book provides new insight into the processes of migration and transnationalism from an anthropological perspective. It has been estimated at the turn of the millennium that 160 million people are living outside of their country of birth or citizenship. The author analyzes macro and micro approaches to migration theory, utilizing her extensive fieldwork in Portugal as well as research in Germany, Brazil, France, the United States and Canada. Key issues she discusses include: the value of immigrant incorporation vs. assimilation models; the impacts on individual, household and community as well as institutions and states; the role of ethnicity and ethnic groups; the effects of clandestine or illegal immigration; the differing commitments to host vs. sending communities; the shift from city enclaves to suburban areas; the constraints and opportunities that lead to ethnic entrepreneurship; the role of religion in transnational linkages; and the differing experiences of men and women as migrants. Brettell also explores the relevance of life histories and oral narratives in understanding the immigration process and the mediation of boundaries in a new society. This book provides a fresh perspective on the contemporary experience of migration and will be indispensable to instructors and researchers in anthropology, race and ethnic studies, immigration studies, urban studies, sociology, and international relations.

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In The Portable Postmodernist, Arthur Asa Berger introduces key concepts written by postmodernism's leading theorists including Lyotard, Baudrillard, and Jameson. This collage of influential writing is followed by Berger's concise, accessible comments. Written for the newcomer, Berger's lucid explanations define the postmodernism's most elusive ideas. Organized in fifty segments, the book runs the gamut from postmodern architecture to feminism to punk music. Berger weaves these diverse topics together, exploring and challenging postmodernism's role in popular culture. This highly-readable book is essential reading for students and anyone interested in media, social, and cultural studies.

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J. David Lewis-Williams is world renowned for his work on the rock art of Southern Africa. In this volume, Lewis-Williams describes the key steps in his evolving journey to understand these images painted on stone. He describes the development of technical methods of interpreting rock paintings of the 1970s, shows how a growing understanding of San mythology, cosmology, and ethnography helped decode the complex paintings, and traces the development of neuropsychological models for understanding the relationship between belief systems and rock art. The author then applies his theories to the famous rock paintings of prehistoric Western Europe in an attempt to develop a comprehensive theory of rock art. For students of rock art, archaeology, ethnography, comparative religion, and art history, Lewis-Williams' book will be a provocative read and an important reference.

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Some field sites have hosted anthropologists for as long as half a century. Chronicling Cultures collects articles from principals of many of the longest and best-known anthropology projects from four continents—the Kung, Harvard Chiapas Project, Gwembe Valley, Tzintzuntzan, and Navajo among others. These projects have brought a new understanding of change and persistence in communities over time. They have forced researchers to develop methods of involving local communities in research, of using data over generations of scholars, and of resolving ethical issues of research versus advocacy. The projects range from individual scholars who return "home" year after year to large-scale institutionalized projects involving many researchers and numerous studies. This volume will be an important addition to the literature on fieldwork, on the history of ethnology, and on ethnographers' role in their host cultures.

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Despite the steady growth of feminism in sociology, little attention has been paid to feminist research on religion. Nason-Clark and Neitz begin to fill this gap, asking leading feminist sociologists of religion to reflect on their work and lives. In addition, the editors include responses from the next generation of feminist sociologists of religion to see how their experiences differ from those of their teachers. The essays show how these feminist scholars construct narratives of their lives and work even among contradictions and interruptions. They show how the researcher, the researched and the research method are all closely intertwined. And they show how these researchers strive to make heard the voices of those they have chosen to study. Feminist Narratives and the Sociology of Religion is an essential text to see how feminist perspectives shape this field. Published in cooperation with the Association for the Sociology of Religion

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In the Great Commission, Jesus told his followers to 'go and make disciples of all nations'. But today, you don't need to be a missionary in another country to come across different cultures. In your neighborhood, school, workplace, and shopping area you probably run across many people with backgrounds vastly different from your own. To have an effective ministry in the U.S. today, outside or inside the church, Christians need to be aware of how people's culture affects the ways they think and live. Talking about Cultural Diversity in Your Church gives classes, workshops, or small groups the opportunity to discuss issues of multiculturalism. Presenting what culture means in the first part of the book shows how understanding and misunderstandings of culture affect American society. This beginning section encourages readers to be aware of their own cultural assumptions and how these assumptions color relations with others. It then highlights special skills for communicating between cultures and highlights the special challenges for religion in a pluralistic society. But the heart of the book is eleven case studies with discussion questions. These concrete cases allow participants to see about how their understandings of culture have real world implications. And the discussion questions let participants talk in meaningful ways about these difficult issues. If you want a useful discussion about multiculturalism in your congregation, you should take a look at Talking about Cultural Diversity in Your Church. Visit the author's web page

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Cultural Materialism, published in 1979, was Marvin Harris's first full-length explication of the theory with which his work has been associated. While Harris has developed and modified some of his ideas over the past two decades, generations of professors have looked to this volume as the essential starting point for explaining the science of culture to students. Now available again after a hiatus, this edition of Cultural Materialism contains the complete text of the original book plus a new introduction by Orna and Allen Johnson that updates his ideas and examines the impact that the book and theory have had on anthropological theorizing.

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Offering a unique and original perspective on the rise and fall of indigenous states of southern Zambezia, The Zimbabwe Culture analyzes the long contentious history of the remains of the remarkable cyclopean masonry, ranging from mighty capitals of traditional kings to humble farmsteads. Forming a cornerstone of the geographical lore of Africa in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, debate on the origins, development, and collapse of the Zimbabwe culture has never ceased, and with increasing archaeological research over the twentieth century, has become more complex. Thoroughly examining the growth and decline of pre-colonial states on the entire Zimbabwean Plateau and southern Zambezia, Dr. Pikirayi has contributed tremendously towards the archaeological understanding of this extraordinary culture. The Zimbabwe Culture is essential reading for all students and avocationalists of African archaeology, history, and culture.

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Ancient Maya Political Economies examines variation in systems of economic production and exchange and how these systems supported the power networks that integrated Maya society. Chapters in this book take a hard look at existing models of elite exchange and tribute and address the difficult question of how the flow of utilitarian goods supported Maya kingdoms and their ruling classes. Using models originally developed by William L. Rathje, the authors explore core-periphery relations, the use of household analysis to reconstruct political economy, and evidence for market development. In doing so, they challenge the conventional wisdom of decentralized Maya political authority and replace it with a more complex view of the political economic foundations of Maya civilization.

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