Social and Cultural Anthropology for the 21st Century

Marzia Balzani is research professor of anthropology, New York University Abu Dhabi. She has published on the anthropology of South Asia, political ritual, diasporic Islam, and gendered and religious persecution. In 2003–08 she was chief examiner for social and cultural anthropology for the International Baccalaureate and in 2010–12 she was chief examiner for Anthropology for the A level (AQA). Niko Besnier is professor of cultural anthropology at the University of Amsterdam and honorary research fellow at La Trobe University. He has published widely on globalization, sport, sexuality and gender, economic relations, and language. In 1998–2003, he was chief examiner for social and cultural anthropology for the International Baccalaureate, and in 2015–19, he edited the journal American Ethnologist.

"Marzia Balzani and Niko Besnier have embarked in a most challenging journey: that of writing an introduction to sociocultural anthropology. A discipline that constantly interrogates the fields of power that surround the production of knowledge is difficult to introduce, yet the task needs to be done. Balzani and Besnier speak to the reader in simple terms that explain complexities: they engage with classical themes such as kinship in new ways; they underline process, relations, and mobilities; they address scale from the immediate intimacies of the body to global transnational power, and they do it brilliantly. They tell the story in a clear language, beautifully interlaced with ethnographic cases and historical grounding, without forgetting to present some important theoretical and methodological debates. Social and Cultural Anthropology for the 21st Century is a masterful feat that underscores how anthropology is about exploring the connections that make life possible."Susana Narotzky, University of Barcelona"Anthropology textbooks have all too often relied on discussions primarily of traditional societies for an audience mainly of Anglo-American readers. Social and Cultural Anthropology for the 21st Century: Connected Worlds is expressly designed to avoid both of these pitfalls, and does so admirably, in its discussions of the present and future as much as of the past, and in its vast array of examples from societies across the globe. It is also really interesting and fun to read: I will certainly use it in my own introductory anthropology class."Gordon Mathews, Chinese University of Hong Kong "Over the decades that I’ve been teaching anthropology at university, students at all levels have asked for an introductory text that clearly explains the discipline, its perspectives, practices, and insights. This is the book, leading the pack by a mile. It is authoritative, up to date, engagingly written and strikingly illustrated.The book’s chapters focus on topics long central to the social sciences, among them, kinship, marriage, sex and gender, exchange and gift-giving, nation and state, and rank, caste and class. The book couches an understanding of the history of ideas in contemporary examples that bring these topics to life, making them thinkable and discussable. The book’s style is sure to get readers reflecting and debating, as they convey the combination of observation, contextualization and critical interpretation that is central to anthropology.Written by two anthropologists with extensive research experience in the Pacific, Asia and Western societies, this book will richly reward its readers with an understanding of the discipline."Francesca Merlan, Australian National University"This book is a much-needed and timely introduction to social and cultural anthropology for a new and media-savvy generation of learners. It is accessible and visually attractive, but also suitably and refreshingly challenging. By making global connections and marrying classic themes with contemporary concerns, the authors have brought the subject bang up to date and have provided a compelling introductory textbook for our time." Jeanette Edwards, University of Manchester

• Preface ; 1 Society and culture in the 21st century ; 2 Anthropologists at work ; 3 Kinship ; 4 Marriage ; 5 Gender, sex, and sexuality ; 6 The body ; 7 The senses ; 8 The life cycle ; 9 Gifts and exchange ; 10 Religion ; 11 Rank, caste, and social class ; 12 State, nation, and citizenship ; 13 Mobility and transnationalism ; 14 Media and the technological transformation of social relations ; 15 The environment