
Consciousness and Change
Symbolic Anthropology in Evolutionary Perspective
James L. Peacock(Author)
The University of North Carolina Press
Published on 30. April 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
250 pages
978-1-4696-6599-3 (ISBN)
Description
Symbols and symbolism are, and always have been, an integral part of myth, belief, ideology, ritual, art, and fantasy. These basic areas of human activity are traditionally investigated under a very wide range of headings; but this book ignores the boundaries of such diverse disciplines as political science, religious sociology, psychology, and literature. Originally published in 1975, Consciousness and Change draws upon all these sources, and more; the result is both an introduction to and a perspective on the developing (though at the time by no means clearly defined) field of symbolic anthropology.
The book opens with an analysis of symbols, discussing some of their essential qualities. The author then proceeds to examine the Durkheimian and Weberian schools of thought, as reflected in the works of anthropologists ranging from Levi-Strauss to Clifford Geertz; next, he considers the development of Protean symbolism, using material material derived from his own field experience in the U.S. South and elsewhere. He concludes with a typology relating different types of symbols to different periods of history, from the primitivism of the Australian aborigine to the quasi-primitivism of the modern commune-dweller. While it is not intended as a comprehensive textbook, Consciousness and Change provides student and lay reader alike with an introductory overview of the anthropology of symbols.
The book opens with an analysis of symbols, discussing some of their essential qualities. The author then proceeds to examine the Durkheimian and Weberian schools of thought, as reflected in the works of anthropologists ranging from Levi-Strauss to Clifford Geertz; next, he considers the development of Protean symbolism, using material material derived from his own field experience in the U.S. South and elsewhere. He concludes with a typology relating different types of symbols to different periods of history, from the primitivism of the Australian aborigine to the quasi-primitivism of the modern commune-dweller. While it is not intended as a comprehensive textbook, Consciousness and Change provides student and lay reader alike with an introductory overview of the anthropology of symbols.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chapel Hill
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
393 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4696-6599-3 (9781469665993)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
James L. Peacock is emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the author or editor of more than fifteen books, including The Anthropological Lens and Identity Matters: Ethnic and Sectarian Conflict.