Social & Cultural Anthropology (A Brief Insight) - Tapa dura

Drawing on intriguing, vivid examples from their own research in Indonesia and Mexico, John Monaghan and Peter Just examine ways in which anthropology has advanced our understanding of human society and culture. They also provide a concise and accessible account of the “big” questions that have traditionally concerned anthropologists: What is unique about human beings? How are groups of people—family, class, tribe, nation—formed and maintained? What is the nature of belief, economic exchange, the self?

A professor at Vanderbilt University, JOHN MONAGHAN has carried out many ethnographic research projects among the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Guatemala. PETER JUST teaches anthropology at Williams College and has done extensive research on the Dou Donggo of Sumbawa Island, Indonesia.