Beyond Writing Culture

Olaf Zenker is assistant professor in Social Anthropology at the University of Bern, Switzerland. He did his Ph.D. at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle on the Irish language and identity in Catholic West Belfast. His publications focus on conflict and identity formations, including a study on communicative constructions of group membership among homeless people: Techniken zur kommunikativen Herstellung von Gruppenzugehorigkeit (Berlin, 2004). Karsten Kumoll is programme manager at the German Science and Humanities Council (Wissenschaftsrat), advising the Federal and State (Lander) governments on the system of higher education and research. He obtained his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Freiburg. Its subject was Marshall Sahlins' complete works and it was subsequently published as: Kultur, Geschichte und die Indigenisierung der Moderne: Eine Analyse des Gesamtwerks von Marshall Sahlins (Bielefeld, 2007).

“…an excellent recent example [of less ideologically driven analyses of Writing Culture]… this volume is the only one … that presents a serious, sustained analysis of the intersections between epistemology and representational practice…More so than the edited volumes on this topic that preceded it, Beyond Writing Culture attempts to strike a balance between acknowledging the contribution of Writing Culture and trying to learn from its mistakes.”  ·  Collaborative Anthropologies“This volume represents the collection of a number of arguments presently raging in the halls of academia regarding the future of ethnography. By returning to Writing Culture over two decades after its first appearance, Zenker and Kumoll attest to the persistence of the landmark book’s ideas. While not an introduction to Writing Culture, this book is highly recommended to scholars interested in the current state of anthropology and the future potential of ethnographic work to move ‘beyond’ Writing Culture without abandoning its important contribution altogether.”  ·  Anthropology and Education Quarterly“This is a book that will attract a great deal of attention among anthropologists and social scientists in general. It is a great advance on earlier critiques of Writing Culture (1986) that have emerged at intervals, a large number of them cited by the contributors. Its strength lies particularly in its transdisciplinary perspectives and the clarity of both critique and new representations. The prologue is a tour de force.”  ·  Joan Vincent, Professor Emerita, Barnard College/Columbia University

• Acknowledgments Series Editor's Preface Gunther Schlee Chapter 1. Prologue: Opening Doors Beyond Writing Culture Olaf Zenker and Karsten Kumoll Chapter 2. Textualization, Mystification and the Power of the Frame Vincent Crapanzano Chapter 3. Reading James Clifford: On Ethnographic Allegory Steffen Strohmenger Chapter 4. Indigenous Research and the Politics of Representation: Notes on the Cultural Theory of Marshall Sahlins Karsten Kumoll Chapter 5. From the Spirit's Point of View: Ethnography, Total Truth and Speakership Thomas G. Kirsch Chapter 6. Interlogue: 'Writing Cultures' and the Quest for Knowledge Rozita Dimova Chapter 7. Language Matters: Reflexive Notes on Representing the Irish Language Revival in Catholic West Belfast Olaf Zenker Chapter 8. Ethnographic Cognition and Writing Culture Christophe Heintz Chapter 9. Hard Truths: Addressing a Crisis in Ethnography Stephen P. Reyna Chapter 10. The Migration of the 'Culture' Concept from Anthropology to Sociology at the Fin de siecle John H. Zammito Chapter 11. Epilogue: How Do Paradigm Shifts Work in Anthropology? On the Relationship of Theory and Experience Gunther Schlee Notes on Contributors Index