Psychological Anthropology - (Wiley Blackwell Anthologies in Social and Cultural Anthropol) by Robert A Levine (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Psychological Anthropology: A Reader in Self in Culture presents a selection of readings from recent and classical literature with a rich diversity of insights into the individual and society.

• Presents the latest psychological research from a variety of global cultures
• Sheds new light on historical continuities in psychological anthropology
• Explores the cultural relativity of emotional experience and moral concepts among diverse peoples, the Freudian influence and recent psychoanalytic trends in anthropology
• Addresses childhood and the acquisition of culture, an ethnographic focus on the self as portrayed in ritual and healing, and how psychological anthropology illuminates social change

From the Back Cover

Through selected articles LeVine demonstrates how psychological anthropology developed as a unified field of study that continues to influence our understanding of social theory, society, and self. Psychological Anthropology: A Reader on Self in Culture presents a series of illuminating readings from recent and classical literature that offer a rich diversity of insights into psychological anthropology. First tracing the growth of the field, LeVine and the authors then explore the cultural relativity of emotional experience and moral concepts among diverse peoples, the Freudian influence, and recent psychoanalytic trends in anthropology. Further readings address childhood and the acquisition of culture, an ethnographic focus on the self as portrayed in ritual and healing, and how psychological anthropology illuminates social change.

Psychological Anthropology: A Reader on Self in Culture is the first reader in decades to combine new historical insights with recent original research and bridges our understanding of the relationship of individuals to their societies.

Review Quotes

"Vividly picture, frame, and imagine an exploratory vivisection of an entire human brain by 18 or so individuals from different specializations, research areas, and training levels doing talking points as each cuts, cleans, rinses, exposes, or excises the above at will into 23 overlapping chunks. If you can mentally formulate this image and want to know more, then Psychological Anthropology: A Reader on Self in Culture is a book for you." (PsycCritiques, December 2010)

About the Author

Robert A. LeVine is Roy E. Larsen Professor of Education and Human Development, Emeritus, at Harvard University. He is author or editor of numerous books and articles, including most recently, Anthropology and Child Development (Blackwell, 2008, with Rebecca New), and is the recipient of both the Career Contribution Award from the Society for Psychological Anthropology and the Distinguished Contributions Award from the American Educational Research Association.