The Ceremonial Animal A New Portrait of Anthropology

Adapting Wittgenstein's concept of the human species as 'a ceremonial animal', Wendy James writes vividly and readably. Her new overview advocates a clear line of argument: that the concept of social form is a primary key to anthropology and the human sciences as a whole. Weaving memorable ethnographic examples into her text, James brings together carefully selected historical sources as well as references to current ideas in neighbouring disciplines such as archaeology, paleoanthropology, genetics, art and material culture, ethnomusicology, urban and development studies, politics, economics, psychology, and religious studies. She shows the relevance of anthropology to pressing world issues such as migration, humanitarian politics, the new reproductive technologies, and religious fundamentalism.
Wendy James's engaging style will appeal to specialist and non-specialist alike. The Foreword is written by Michael J. Lambek, Professor of Anthropology, University of Toronto.

1 - Key Questions in Anthropology
2 - Dialogues with Grand Theory
3 - Species, Space, and Time
4 - Daughters of the Dance
5 - On Ritual and Social Memoey
6 - Language and Social Engagement
7 - The Dialectics of Gender and Generation
8 - Human Bodies, Social Persons, and Selves
9 - Place, Home, and Habitus
10 - Work, Wealth, and Exchange
11 - Theatres of Power, War, and Peace
12 - The New Spaces: Cities and Popular Culture
13 - The Modern Person and 'The Market'
14 - States, 'Nations', and the Struggles of the People
15 - Anthropology as a Human Science: Conversations with History and Religion

President, Royal Anthropological Institute, 2001-; Vice-President, British Institute in Eastern Africa, 2001-; appointed Fellow of the British Academy 1999;Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Oxford 1996-; Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford.