Popularizing Anthropology (Hardcover)

In this volume anthropologists examine the way they write for a non-academic audience: what kind of books they produce, how they are written, what the pitfalls and advantages are, and what becomes popular - as well as why. In the 1980s postmodernist anthropologists began to explore the literary and reflective aspects of their work. This book advances that trend by looking at a key but previously marginalized genre of anthropology. The contributors explore such themes as: why so many popular anthropologists are women; how the Japanese have reacted to Ruth Benedict; why Margaret Mead became so successful; how the French media promote Levi-Strauss and Louis Dumont; why Bruce Chatwin tells us more about Aboriginals than many anthropologists of Australia; and how personal accounts of fieldwork have evolved since the 1950s. The text attempts to unearth a submerged tradition within anthropology and reveals that, from its beginning, anthropologists have looked beyond the boundaries of the academy for their listeners.