The Gaze of the Other: An Introduction to Anthropological Theory

Author: Robert Leiden
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: This book does not aim to provide a comprehensive history of anthropological thought. The author focuses on current debates to write this work, emphasizing the ways in which anthropological theories collide rather than tracing the entire history of theoretical development. The author demonstrates the practical application of theories by showing how various theories contribute to explaining social and cultural processes in specific groups. Where appropriate, I have presented the complementary or competitive interpretations of different theories on the same ethnographic case. I believe the most important theories today are sociobiology and postmodernism, and the contributions of several early theories discussed in the book have also influenced the development of sociobiology and postmodernism. This book does not review the theory of communication, and the ideas of evolution are also discussed less. Even in the theoretical fields I have considered, many famous authors and works are not mentioned. Reviewing the original materials discussed, I always find that the theoretical perspectives they contain are far richer than what is revealed in any secondary literature. I intend to guide readers toward such original texts rather than attempting to replace them. In this innovative work, Robert Leiden reviews various perspectives that have inspired the research of anthropologists worldwide, providing concise analyses of theories and tracing the process by which these theories have been introduced into anthropological debates. The book begins by explaining classic theoretical perspectives proposed by figures such as Hobbes, Rousseau, Marx, and Durkheim. Subsequent chapters discuss functionalism, structuralism, interaction theory, and Marxist anthropology. The book concludes with examples of sociobiology and postmodernism debates. Professor Leiden’s detailed case studies illustrate how different theoretical perspectives provide sufficient and convincing descriptions of specific human societies.