The so-called science wars pit science against culture, and nowhere is the struggle more contentious-or more fraught with paradox-than in the burgeoning realm of genetics. A constructive response, ...and a welcome intervention, this volume brings together biological and cultural anthropologists to conduct an interdisciplinary dialogue that provokes and instructs even as it bridges the science/culture divide. Individual essays address issues raised by the science, politics, and history of race, evolution, and identity; genetically modified organisms and genetic diseases; gene work and ethics; and the boundary between humans and animals. The result is an entree to the complicated nexus of questions prompted by the power and importance of genetics and genetic thinking, and the dynamic connections linking culture, biology, nature, and technoscience. The volume offers critical perspectives on science and culture, with contributions that span disciplinary divisions and arguments grounded in both biological perspectives and cultural analysis. An invaluable resource and a provocative introduction to new research and thinking on the uses and study of genetics,Genetic Nature/Cultureis a model of fruitful dialogue, presenting the quandaries faced by scholars on both sides of the two-cultures debate.
This is the first volume to introduce the data, theory and methodology of contemporary archaeological work in Japan and other parts of East Asia archaeology in English to western audiences. It also ...introduces a new theoretical concept to archaeologists interested in the relationship between ancient cultures—coexistence. Archaeologists traditionally examine the boundaries between different cultural groups in terms conflict and dominance rather than long-term, harmonious adaptive responses. Chapters in this book cover evidence from burials, faunal and botanical analysis, as well as traditional trade goods. It is of interest to archaeologists conducting research in East Asia or studying intercultural interaction anywhere around the globe.
The essays in Between Orality and Literacy address how oral and literature practices intersect. Their topics range from Homer and Hesiod to the New Testament and Gaius' Institutes, from epic poetry ...and drama to vase painting, historiography, mythography, and the philosophical letter.
In this book the contributors analyse the ways in which the Senegalese, Ghanaian and Fulbe migrants in France, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland negotiate their religious and ethnic ...identities.
Based on the proceedings of a 2005 conference, this volume re-examines the role of Dutch social and patriotic myths. Using recent methodological approaches, the essays assess how the Dutch perceived ...their myths and how they were treated by previous historians.
Jews and Gender features sixteen authors exploring the history and culture of the intersection of Judaism and gender from the biblical world to today. Topics include subversive readings of biblical ...texts; reappraisal of rabbinic theory and practice; women in mysticism, Chasidism, and Yiddish literature; and women in contemporary culture and politics. Accessible and comprehensive, this volume will appeal to the general reader in addition to engaging with contemporary academic scholarship.
Warfare in Bronze Age Society takes a fresh look at warfare and its role in reshaping Bronze Age society. The Bronze Age represents the global emergence of a militarized society with a martial ...culture, materialized in a package of new efficient weapons that remained in use for millennia to come. Warfare became institutionalized and professionalized during the Bronze Age, and a new class of warriors made their appearance. Evidence for this development is reflected in the ostentatious display of weapons in burials and hoards, and in iconography, from rock art to palace frescoes. These new manifestations of martial culture constructed the warrior as a 'Hero' and warfare as 'Heroic'. The case studies, written by an international team of scholars, discuss these and other new aspects of Bronze Age warfare. Moreover, the essays show that warriors also facilitated mobility and innovation as new weapons would have quickly spread from the Mediterranean to northern Europe.
Renowned for their monumental architecture and rich visual culture, the Moche inhabited the north coast of Peru during the Early Intermediate Period (AD 100–800). Archaeological discoveries over the ...past century and the dissemination of Moche artifacts to museums around the world have given rise to a widespread and continually increasing fascination with this complex culture, which expressed its beliefs about the human and supernatural worlds through finely crafted ceramic and metal objects of striking realism and visual sophistication. In this standard-setting work, an international, multidisciplinary team of scholars who are at the forefront of Moche research present a state-of-the-art overview of Moche culture. The contributors address various issues of Moche society, religion, and material culture based on multiple lines of evidence and methodologies, including iconographic studies, archaeological investigations, and forensic analyses. Some of the articles present the results of long-term studies of major issues in Moche iconography, while others focus on more specifically defined topics such as site studies, the influence of El Niño/Southern Oscillation on Moche society, the nature of Moche warfare and sacrifice, and the role of Moche visual culture in decoding social and political frameworks.
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