John H.M. Beattie Other Cultures

Annotation

Other Cultures provides a lucid introduction to social anthropology. The author devotes the first part of the book to a consideration of what social anthropology is and seeks to do, what areas it covers, and the methods of investigation employed by social anthropologists. The second part discusses the major categories of research through which social anthropologies have advanced our knowledge of other cultures. These include marriage, kinship, political organization, law, economic and property relations, magic, religion, and social change. The final chapter surveys some of the contributions social anthropology has made to the understanding of other cultures. A short reading list follows each chapter.