Constructing Knowledge: Authority and Critique in Social Science (Inquiries in Social Construction series)

The book explores the crisis in anthropology, brought on by the sustained attacks on its long held postulates. Amongst the topics discussed are: the legitimacy of constructing knowledge about others; Western ethnocentrism inherent in concepts such as culture; construction of concepts such as "self" and "other" serving to strengthen rather than reduce racial and gender inequality; postmodern "doubt" with its emphasis on relativity of knowledge which can undermine the whole edifice of "scientific" anthropology; whether a reflexive self-critique can be sustained as an alternative to paralysis of the discipline. This text may be of interest to those involved in the practice of social science research.