Creativity/Anthropology

by Smadar Lavie (Editor), Kirin Narayan (Editor), Renato Rosaldo (Editor)

Creativity and play erupt in the most solemn of everyday worlds as individuals reshape traditional forms in the light of changing historical circumstances. In this lively volume, fourteen distinguished anthropologists explore the life of creativity in social life across the globe and within the study of ethnography itself. Contributors include Barbara A. Babcock, Edward M. Bruner, James W. Fernandez, Don Handelman, Smadar Lavie, José E. Limon, Barbara Myerhoff, Kirin Narayan, Renato Rosaldo, Richard Schechner, Edward L. Schieffelin, Marjorie Shostak, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, and Edith Turner.

Genres: Anthropology, Ebooks

363 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Pauline · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were a number of stories in this that were interesting, but I found it hard sometimes to keep track of what the point was of what I was reading, partly because each chapter was so different and I had trouble seeing how they all fit together and partly because there seemed to be a good deal of "academic-speak" sometimes. Maybe this was written by academics for academics, but I would have liked to understand it without having to read some sentences over and over and eventually give up on getting the point. (I work at a college and sometimes get the same impression from stuff posted by faculty. I have advanced degrees myself and read lots of academic stuff back when I was getting those degrees, but it seems to me now that it should be possible to write more clearly.) The epilogue at the end finally pulled the different ideas together - I wished some of that material had been put at the beginning of each chapter to set it in context.