THE REINVENTION OF PRIMITIVE SOCIETY by Adam Kuper ( 9781138282643 )

Item Details

Title:

THE REINVENTION OF PRIMITIVE SOCIETY
TRANSFORMATIONS OF A MYTH

By:

Adam Kuper

Format:

Hardback

List price:

£145.00

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£130.50

Discount:

10% off

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£14.50

ISBN 10:

1138282642

ISBN 13:

9781138282643

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Stock:

Currently 1item in stock

Publisher:

TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

Pub. date:

14 February, 2017

Series:

Routledge Classic Texts in Anthropology

Pages:

236

Description:

Originally published: 2005. With new preface.

Synopsis:

Adam Kuper's iconoclastic intellectual history argues that the idea of "primitive society" is a western myth. The "primitive" is imagined as the opposite of the "civilised". But this is a protean myth. As ideas about civilisation change, so the image of primitive society must be adjusted. By way of fascinating account of classic texts in anthropology, ancient history and law, Kuper reveals how this myth underpinned academic research and inspired political programmes. Its ancestry is traced back to classical western beliefs about barbarians and savages, and Kuper also tackles the latest version of the myth, the idea of a global identity of "indigenous peoples". The Reinvention of Primitive Society is a key text in the history of anthropology, and will interest anyone who has puzzled about the very idea of "primitive society" - and so, by implication, about "civilisation".

Illustrations:

2 black & white tables

Publication:

Imprint:

Routledge

Returns:

Returnable

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