
Cosmologies in the Making
A Generative Approach to Cultural Variation in Inner New Guinea
Fredrik Barth(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 25. September 1987
Book
Hardback
112 pages
978-0-521-34279-7 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Description
All culture, particularly that of non-literate traditions, is constantly being recreated, and in the process also undergoes changes. In this book, Fredrik Barth examines the changes that have taken place in the secret cosmological lore transmitted in male initiation ceremonies among the Mountain Ok of Inner New Guinea, and offers a new way of explaining how cultural change occurs. Professor Barth focuses in particular on accounting for the local variations in cosmological traditions that exist among the Ok people, who otherwise share similar material and ecological conditions, and similar languages. Rejecting existing anthropological theory as inadequate for explaining this, Professor Barth constructs a new model of the mechanisms of change, based on his close empirical observation of the processes of cultural transmission. This model emphasises the role of individual creativity in cultural reproduction and change, and maintains that cosmologies can be adequately understood only if they are regarded as knowledge in the process of communication, embedded in social organization, rather than as fixed bodies of belief. From the model he derives various theoretically grounded hypotheses regarding the probable courses of change that would be generated by such mechanisms. He then goes on to show that these hypotheses fit the actual patterns of variation that are found among the Ok.
Reviews / Votes
"Barth provides significant theoretical insight into the nature of traditional and cultural variation. His focus on the mechanisms of communication and their effects on cultural symbols and the distribution of knowledge opens up a promising direction for future research." William H. McKellin, Pacific AffairsMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
290 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-34279-7 (9780521342797)
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Fredrik Barth
Cosmologies in the Making
A Generative Approach to Cultural Variation in Inner New Guinea
Book
01/1990
Cambridge University Press
€43.20
Shipment within 15-20 days
Additional editions

Fredrik Barth
Cosmologies in the Making
A Generative Approach to Cultural Variation in Inner New Guinea
Book
01/1990
Cambridge University Press
€43.20
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Content
Foreword Jack Goody; Map; 1. The problem; 2. An attempt at systematic comparison: descent and ideas of conception; 3. The possible interrelations of sub-traditions: reading sequence from distribution; 4. The context for events of change; 5. The results of process - variations in connotation; 6. Secret thoughts and understandings; 7. The stepwise articulation of a vision; 8. Experience and concept formation; 9. The insights pursued by Ok thinkers; 10. General and comparative perspectives; 11. Some reflections on theory and method; Bibliography; Index.