anthro notes

a newsletter for teachers

vol. 5 no. 2

spring 1983

READERS’ CHOICE

Would your class be interested in what swim teams, “Star Trek”, and the Yanomamo have in common? Are you troubled by restless students, the time needed to hunt down current stimulating articles, and the chore of making 30 copies of assigned readings? If so, the annotated list below may provide some relief by suggesting readers suitable for secondary students — all available in paperback and all in print. These readers contain articles on cultural and, to some extent, physical anthropology. They do not, however, include readings on “doing anthropology”. [For a bibliography on “Student Fieldwork Projects”, see Anthro·Notes 3(2), Spring 1981; for a bibliography on “Ethical Dilemmas in the Field” see Anthro·Notes 4(1), Winter 1982.]

Angeloni, Elvio, ed. Annual Editions: Anthropology 83/84. Guilford, CT: The Dushkin Publ. Co., 1982. Instructor's guide upon request.

A widely used, stimulating collection of 40 articles from popular journals such as Science 82 and Natural History, Annual Editions focuses predominately on cultural anthropology. The old stand-bys are repeated, such as “Doing Fieldwork Among the Yanomamo,” “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema,” and “Steel Axes for Stone Age Australians.” However, more recent articles are included which discuss creationism, child care in China, new dates for the beginning of farming, patterns of social interaction in new video arcades, and confessions of a former cultural relativist. The index and topic guide aid in integrating articles into different course organizations. The topical divisions mirror Conformity and Conflict. However, the two readers differ: Annual Editions: Anthropology 83/84 has much shorter introductions and analyses than Conformity and Conflict, several challenge questions, a few more recent articles, and an 8 1/2 by 11 format.

Arens, W. and Susan P. Montague, eds. The American Dimension: Cultural Myths and Social Realities. 2nd ed. Port Washington, NY: Alfred Pubis. Co., Inc., 1981.

This reader corrects the unfortunate oversight of American culture in most introductory courses in anthropology. The 16 essays fall into two major sections: symbolic analysis of cultural phenomena and social strategies and institutional arrangements. The first section focuses on what the mass media — professional football, “Star Trek”, “Duck Soup”, soap operas, and “The Exorcist” — reveals about our culture. “The mass media constitutes a forum for depicting and to a certain extent, debating current morality.” The second section includes essays on volunteer firemen, middle class friendships, and health care behavior. This reader shows how people use information to behave in different social contexts and students will learn something about the differences among various parts of the United States. References are provided at the end of each essay. The essays raise theoretical issues but they should not be too difficult for high school students to consider for the analyses are interesting and revealing about ourselves and our culture.

Cole, Johnnetta B., ed. Anthropology For the Eighties: Introductory Readings. New York: The Free Press (Div. of Macmillan Pub. Co., Inc.), 1982.

No “them” and “us” exists in this reader arranged into traditional and current topics. Instead the articles on fieldwork, language and culture, ritual and belief systems, ethics, racism, sexism, and changing economic systems intertwine analyses of United States culture with ones more distant. Traditional articles, such as “The Impact of Money on an African Subsistence Economy” by Paul Bohannan, join with more recent articles on a garbage workers strike, “Star Trek”, and women in Cuba. An essay introduces each section and subsection clarifying the major issues of that topic for anthropology. Bibliographies come at the end of each topic. High school students will enjoy and learn much about anthropology's perspective and diversity in these stimulating articles, but they may stumble over parts that discuss theoretical implications and history. The readings included are a bit more thorough and scholarly than in the other readers.

Hunter, David E. and Phillip Whitten, eds. Readings in Physical Anthropology and Archaeology. New York: Harper and Row, 1978.

Although designed for college introductory students, the editors assume no background in archeology or physical anthropology. Engaging articles on stones and bones often focus on current debates. Articles range broadly and include “A Chat with Charles Darwin”, “Pilgrims Elude a Pilgrim Hunter”, “Ancient Aches and Pains”, “Hominids in Africa”, “Shadow of Olmecs”, and “The Fallacy of Biological Determinism”. From this reader students will learn about evolution, archeology, the fossil record, primates, civilizations, and contemporary issues.

Kottak, Conrad Phillip, ed. Researching American Culture: A Guide for Student Anthropologists. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press, 1982.

Although the first part of this book details steps in conducting research, the other three parts are essays by students and professional anthropologists on contemporary United States culture. Topics covered include the media, high schools, death, swim teams, sexual discrimination, and puns.

Lisitzky, Gene. Four Ways of Being Human: An Introduction to Anthropology. New York: Penguin Books, 1976. (original copyright, 1956)

This informed and compassionate book was written for high school students by a journalist committed to the value of anthropology as a “mind stretcher, prejudice dissolver, and taste widener.” Concerned with showing students how different cultures have ingeniously coped with different environments, Lisitzky describes the Semang in the tropical rain forest of Malaya, the Eskimo in the high Arctic regions, the Maori of New Zealand, and the Hopi in northeastern Arizona. The chapters emphasize how each people's culture works for them, how they view their own problems, and how they find joy. The student is not expected to have any background in anthropology and no theoretical language is used to describe each culture's economy, social structure and belief system. The teacher using this book should alert students to the changes which have altered the lifestyles of the Semang, Eskimo, Maori, and Hopi since the descriptions represent the past more than the present.

Service, Elman R. Profiles in Ethnology. 3rd ed. New York: Harper and Row, 1978.

This book's organization reflects its author's theoretical concerns with the evolutionary development of bands, tribes, chiefdoms, primitive states, and modern folk societies. The 22 readings, all by Service, are capsule descriptions of such groups as the Copper Eskimo, Navaho, Inca, Yahgan, Reindeer Tungus, Nuer, Zulu, Ashanti, and Arunta. A cultural map and photo graphs accompany each study. The readings support Service's views on increasing structural complexity which some anthropologists do not accept. Furthermore, all descriptions are written in the “ethnographic present” with little attention given to culture change. Although the book is clearly written and well-organized a high school student may become bored by the style.

Spradley, James P. and David W. McCurdy, eds. Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology. 4th ed. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1980. Instructor's Manual free.

A popular reader, Conformity and Conflict groups interesting articles according to culture, language and communication, kinship and family, sex roles, cultural ecology, economic systems, law and politics, religion, and culture change. Each section's thoughtful introduction is short, and the analyses are easy to understand. The articles describe United States and European cultures as well as the better known non-Western culture anthropologists have studied. Unfortunately, with Spradley's death this past year, future editions may not be forthcoming.

Weaver, Thomas, et al, eds. To See Ourselves: Anthropology and Modern Social Issues. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman, and Co., 1973.

This provocative and thoughtful reader discusses the contributions of anthropology to contemporary social issues. The various articles address the myth of the melting pot, anthropology and the Third World, race and racism, poverty and culture schooling, violence, our troubled environment and changing the system.

JoAnne Lanouette