Anthropology and Social Theory: Culture, Power, and the Acting Subject

by Sherry B. Ortner

In Anthropology and Social Theory the award-winning anthropologist Sherry B. Ortner draws on her longstanding interest in theories of cultural practice to rethink key concepts of culture, agency, and subjectivity for the social sciences of the twenty-first century. The seven theoretical and interpretive essays in this volume each advocate reconfiguring, rather than abandoning, the concept of culture. Similarly, they all suggest that a theory which depends on the interested action of social beings—specifically practice theory, associated especially with the work of Pierre Bourdieu—requires a more developed notion of human agency and a richer conception of human subjectivity. Ortner shows how social theory must both build upon and move beyond classic practice theory in order to understand the contemporary world. Some of the essays reflect explicitly on theoretical the relationship between agency and power, the problematic quality of ethnographic studies of resistance, and the possibility of producing an anthropology of subjectivity. Others are ethnographic studies that apply Ortner’s theoretical framework. In these, she investigates aspects of social class, looking at the relationship between race and middle-class identity in the United States, the often invisible nature of class as a cultural identity and as an analytical category in social inquiry, and the role that public culture and media play in the creation of the class anxieties of Generation X. Written with Ortner’s characteristic lucidity, these essays constitute a major statement about the future of social theory from one of the leading anthropologists of our time.

Genres: Anthropology, Nonfiction, Theory, Academic

200 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2006

Reviews

[Beauregard Bottomley · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were weird echoes of post-structuralism unnecessarily reverberating within this book. For a book written in 2006 the author should have moved beyond the cultural self-reinforcement of Berger’s book “Social Construction of Reality.”

Seeing the world through sociology is profitable. All sociology is interpretation and reconfiguring culture as a starting point leads to a recoding of the disaster that is unfolding today. The interpretive lens of recognizing the being of privileging the privileged class gives credence to a post-structuralist structure of relativism. MAGA is post-structuralist and post-modernist while they recode reality through the interpretative lens.

The disaster unfolding today with MAGA enabling sex crimes with minors seems to show that cultures, societies, and psychology need to break the mold and then rebuild it. I’m satisfied with just saying ‘do no harm’ is a reasonable starting point. Objective moral truths aren’t necessary but their absence doesn’t mean the proper lens for interpretation is through Derrida or Michel Foucault.

This book seemed like it was written in the 1990 and when I saw it was published in 2006, I was less forgiving for the relativism inherent within the author’s interpretation of facts about the world.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sherry gives a clear and deep analysis on the relations between practice theory, culture, and power. The example help the reader to understand better the conceptual frameworks of social theory and the purpose of this book.

[Repa Kustipia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penulis menegaskan bahwa teori praktik tampaknya yang paling menarik karena memang teori umum tentang produksi subjek sosial melalui praktik di dunia, dan produksi dunia itu sendiri melalui praktik.

Penulis merasakan pengalaman Pelatihan Weberian-Geertzian yang sebagian besar adalah tentang produksi subjek (ivitie), dan dengan cara yang menurutnya lebih kaya dan menarik daripada konsepsi Bourdieu tentang habitus (walaupun istilah itu tentu saja berguna).

Bagian kedua, penulis menjelaskan tentang produksi di dunia melalui praktik manusia yang tampak baru dan sangat kuat, hal ini memberikan sintesa dialektis tentang pertentangan antara "struktur" (atau dunia sosial yang dibentuk) dan "agensi" (atau praktik-praktik yang berkepentingan).

Selain itu, gagasan bahwa dunia "dibuat"-dalam arti yang sangat luas dan kompleks, tentu saja-melalui tindakan orang biasa. Ini sangat lugas dikemukakan dilihat dari berbagai studi dan pengalamannya terutama pada berbagai Generasi. Termasuk Penulis yang memang angkatan Gen X dan merasakan fenomena itu.


Penulis menjelaskan tentang teori praktik yang memiliki implikasi politik langsung yang berhubungan dengan keprihatinan feminis yang dirasakan.

Akhirnya teori praktik menjadi menarik karena merupakan kerangka teori yang sangat luas namun banyak yang hilang, tetapi setiap hal yang hilang, dalam teori budaya yang lebih baik, peran kekuasaan yang akan lebih sentral, termasuk ketika memperdalam bagian sejarah apa pun (dalam Bourdieu dan Giddens).

Buku ini akan menjadi pedoman bagaimana aplikasi teori praktik dalam berbagai situasi. Terutama dalam mengolah fenomenologi sosial.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still need to read Chapters 4 & 5

[Lilly Irani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome survey chapters on approaches to social theory, including issues of agency, structure, and power, as well as a great survey of class in anthro and cultural studies. Lots of interesting snippets of material she goes to in greater depth in her book New Jersey Dreaming.

I have read about 2/3 of the book so I can't comment brilliantly on its totality (as if I could at all).

[Rallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this before many years ago and gave it a low rating. Upon re-reading it, I am at a loss to figure out why. This book is quite useful for the discussion of power and agency within the field of anthropology.

[Elizabeth Keenan]

I've read most of these essays before, but, well, they're informing my dissertation as we speak! Really, I'm going back to work now...

[esin duzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

especially the part of why class is missing from anthropology is fabulous..

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for ethnologists, sociologists, psychologist or anyone else interested in structures of culture and power. Not to academic, but enough to where you may want to read some parts twice.

[Rebecca Radnor]

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