Winthrop's dictionary describes the major concepts that have shaped the discipline of cultural anthropology, both historically and theoretically. Eighty entries review the key concepts that have established the fundamental problems and issues of the discipline.
Preface List of Concepts The Dictionary Indexes
ROBERT H. WINTHROP is the principal of Winthrop Associates Cultural Research and an Adjunct Professor at Southern Oregon State College. He edited the 1990 book Culture and the Anthropological Tradition and contributed a chapter to Living with the Land and has published in Anthropology Quarterly.
?This dictionary consists of 80 entries from 2000 to 6000 words in
length that discuss key historical and contemporary ideas in
cultural anthropology. The author is scrupulously fair and provides
extensive bibliographies; however, annotations are often absent or
perfunctory. The book is more specialized and more thorough than
the typical dictionary of anthropological terms. Winthrop's choice
of topics is somewhat idiosyncratic, however. There are entries for
trance and for curing but not for sacrifice or medical
anthropology; for semiotics but not for fieldwork or physical
anthropology. Other lapses will occur to those who read the book;
for example, the discussion of peasants doesn't include the term
post-peasant, a useful concept. The book will be of interest to
academic and larger public libraries but is probably fated to be
used primarily by graduate students in their perennial quest to
avoid reading the original sources.?-Library Journal
?Winthrop has produced an excellent compilation of important
concepts in cultural anthropology. It is not a long list of terms.
Rather, as is typical of volumes in this series, entries for each
of the 80 concepts begin with a succinct definition, followed by an
in-depth examination of the history and use of the concept in the
discipline, a list of references discussed in the second part, and
additional readings. The important ideas in British and American
cultural anthropology are all included; the name and subject
indexes guide the reader to more specific words and terms that
relate to the concepts (e.g., "participant observation" is
discussed under the concept "Ethnography"). There is good
cross-referencing. Most of the cultural terms included in another
notable work, Dictionary of Anthropology, ed. by Charlotte
Seymour-Smith (CH, July '87), also appear in this dictionary.
Winthrop's book is aimed at anthropology students and colleagues,
including those in other disciplines, for whom it is indeed an
excellent "guide through the anthropological labyrinth" (p.x).
Recommended for all academic anthropology library collections,
lower-division undergraduate and up.?-Choice
?The entries ring with clarity and authority.?-ARBA
?The entries ring with clarity and authority.??ARBA
"The entries ring with clarity and authority."-ARBA
"This dictionary consists of 80 entries from 2000 to 6000 words in
length that discuss key historical and contemporary ideas in
cultural anthropology. The author is scrupulously fair and provides
extensive bibliographies; however, annotations are often absent or
perfunctory. The book is more specialized and more thorough than
the typical dictionary of anthropological terms. Winthrop's choice
of topics is somewhat idiosyncratic, however. There are entries for
trance and for curing but not for sacrifice or medical
anthropology; for semiotics but not for fieldwork or physical
anthropology. Other lapses will occur to those who read the book;
for example, the discussion of peasants doesn't include the term
post-peasant, a useful concept. The book will be of interest to
academic and larger public libraries but is probably fated to be
used primarily by graduate students in their perennial quest to
avoid reading the original sources."-Library Journal
"Winthrop has produced an excellent compilation of important
concepts in cultural anthropology. It is not a long list of terms.
Rather, as is typical of volumes in this series, entries for each
of the 80 concepts begin with a succinct definition, followed by an
in-depth examination of the history and use of the concept in the
discipline, a list of references discussed in the second part, and
additional readings. The important ideas in British and American
cultural anthropology are all included; the name and subject
indexes guide the reader to more specific words and terms that
relate to the concepts (e.g., "participant observation" is
discussed under the concept "Ethnography"). There is good
cross-referencing. Most of the cultural terms included in another
notable work, Dictionary of Anthropology, ed. by Charlotte
Seymour-Smith (CH, July '87), also appear in this dictionary.
Winthrop's book is aimed at anthropology students and colleagues,
including those in other disciplines, for whom it is indeed an
excellent "guide through the anthropological labyrinth" (p.x).
Recommended for all academic anthropology library collections,
lower-division undergraduate and up."-Choice
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