The sixth edition of this bestselling text offers a concise history of anthropological theory from antiquity to the twenty-first century, with new and significantly revised sections that reflect the current state of the field.

The sixth edition of this bestselling text offers a concise history of anthropological theory from antiquity to the twenty-first century, with new and significantly revised sections that reflect the current state of the field.

The sixth edition of this bestselling reader offers a comprehensive collection of readings critical to the understanding of anthropological theory, with a selection of new pieces that represent major developments in the field.

In the latest edition of their popular overview text, Erickson and Murphy continue to provide a comprehensive, affordable, and accessible introduction to anthropological theory from antiquity to the present. A new section on twenty-first-century anthropological theory has been added, with more coverage given to postcolonialism, non-Western anthropology, and public anthropology. The book has also been redesigned to be more visually and pedagogically engaging. Used on its own, or paired with the companion volume Readings for a History of Anthropological Theory, Fourth Edition, this reader offers a flexible and highly useful resource for the undergraduate anthropology classroom. For additional resources, visit the "Teaching Theory" page at www.utpteachingculture.com.

"An accessible and engaging overview of anthropological theory that provides a comprehensive history from antiquity through to the twenty-first century. The fifth edition has been revised throughout, with substantial updates to the Feminism and Anthropology section, including more on Gender and Sexuality, and with a new section on Anthropologies of the Digital Age. Once again, A History of Anthropological Theory will be published simultaneously with the accompanying reader, mirroring these changes in the selection of readings, so they can easily be used together in the classroom. Additional biographical information about some of theorists has been added to help students."--

The sixth edition of this bestselling reader offers a comprehensive collection of readings critical to the understanding of anthropological theory, with a selection of new pieces that represent major developments in the field.

Anthropology is a discipline very conscious of its history, and Alan Barnard has written a clear, balanced and judicious textbook that surveys the historical contexts of the great debates and traces the genealogies of theories and schools of thought. It also considers the problems involved in assessing these theories. The book covers the precursors of anthropology; evolutionism in all its guises; diffusionism and culture area theories, functionalism and structural-functionalism; action-centred theories; processual and Marxist perspectives; the many faces of relativism, structuralism and post-structuralism; and recent interpretive and postmodernist viewpoints.