Moberg - Engaging anthropological theory : a social and political history

As readers will soon learn, this text adopts a decidedly unconventional approach to the history of anthropological theory. Its orientation is rooted in a gradual evolution in the way that I have taught the subject to seniorlevel undergraduates over more than two decades. Having come of age professionally during the years that postmodern critiques redefined anthropology, I have sought ever since to reconcile the best of what is offered by the newer critiques and my own grounding in anthropologys traditional empirical conventions. I have also tried to convey to my students how anthropological ideas are rooted in broader social forces, including (among many others) the administration of colonial societies, movements for national independence, and domestic politics affecting the expression of academic thought. Finally, this book reflects my own idiosyncratic approach to teaching, recognizing that even ideas with serious import are often best conveyed with a dash of humor. Indeed, I have found occasional irreverence to be the most effective means of overcoming student fears of anthropological theory as a daunting and dry subject. To some extent, my approach to this book was inspired by a wonderful little volume by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, Plato and Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy through Jokes (2006). Indeed, where their insights are relevant to the philosophical issues raised in anthropology over recent decades, I have cited a number of their witticisms in the pages that follow.

I would like to thank the Senior Publisher at Routledge, Lesley Riddle, for her steadfast support of this project through each of the steps of writing, review, revision, and publication. Given my difficulty in persuading other publishers of the merits of approaching anthropological theory in a lessthansomber fashion, I deeply appreciate her faith in this project. Throughout, her counsel and encouragement have greatly strengthened the final manuscript. Routledges Senior Editorial Assistant, Katherine Ong, provided reassuring guidance throughout the formidable process of procuring permissions and illustrations for the volume. Thanks go as well to April Hopkins for her skilful renderings of three of the drawings featured in the book. And I owe my heartfelt gratitude to the five anonymous reviewers whose insightful critiques helped me to sharpen my arguments and rein in my occasional excesses. Any defects or lapses that remain are, of course, entirely my own.

Finally, I would like to thank the hundreds of students that I have taught over the years in my anthropological theory classes. Many have found themselves in the course not by choice but by their academic requirements. Nonetheless, they have been patient and always supportive audiences as I have tried to figure out what works in the classroom and what doesnt. Their responses, questions, and critiques have immeasurably improved my effectiveness as a teacher and loom large in the way I planned and executed this volume. I hope they will recognize something of themselves in the chapters that follow. Special thanks go to E.M.L., who encouraged this project from the outset, reviewed draft chapters, and assisted in the correction of galleys.

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain permission to reproduce material. Any omissions brought to the attention of the publisher will be remedied in future editions.