Carol Delaney – författare

This collection of essays analyzes relations of social inequality that appear to be logical extensions of a "natural order" and in the process demonstrates that a revitalized feminist anthropology of the 1990s has much to offer the field of feminist theory. Contributors:Susan McKinnon, Kath Weston, Rayna Rapp, Janet Dolgin, Harriet Whitehead, Carol Delaney, Brackette Williams, Sylvia Yanagisako, Phyllis Chock, Sherry Ortner and Anna Tsing.

Abraham on Trial questions the foundations of faith that have made a virtue out of the willingness to sacrifice a child. Through his desire to obey God at all costs, even if it meant sacrificing his son, Abraham became the definitive model of faith for the major world religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In this bold look at the legacy of this biblical and qur'anic story, Carol Delaney explores how the sacrifice rather than the protection of children became the focus of faith, to the point where the abuse and betrayal of children has today become widespread and sometimes institutionalized. Her strikingly original analysis also offers a new perspective on what unites and divides the peoples of the sibling religions derived from Abraham and, implicitly, a way to overcome the increasing violence among them. Delaney critically examines evidence from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim interpretations, from archaeology and Freudian theory, as well as a recent trial in which a father sacrificed his child in obedience to God's voice, and shows how the meaning of Abraham's story is bound up with a specific notion of fatherhood.The preeminence of the father (which is part of the meaning of the name Abraham) comes from the still operative theory of procreation in which men transmit life by means of their "seed," an image that encapsulates the generative, creative power that symbolically allies men with God. The communities of faith argue interminably about who is the true seed of Abraham, who can claim the patrimony, but until now, no one has asked what is this seed. Kinship and origin myths, the cultural construction of fatherhood and motherhood, suspicions of actual child sacrifices in ancient times, and a revisiting of Freud's Oedipus complex all contribute to Delaney's remarkably rich discussion. She shows how the story of Abraham legitimates a hierarchical structure of authority, a specific form of family, definitions of gender, and the value of obedience that have become the bedrock of society. The question she leaves us with is whether we should perpetuate this story and the lessons it teaches.

The third edition of Investigating Culture: An Experiential Introduction to Anthropology, the highly praised innovative approach to introducing aspects of cultural anthropology to students, features a series of revisions, updates, and new material. Offers a refreshing alternative to introductory anthropology texts by challenging students to think in new ways and apply cultural learnings to their own livesChapters explore key anthropological concepts of human culture including: language, the body, food, and time, and provide an array of cultural examples in which to examine themIncorporates new material reflecting the authors’ research in Malawi, New England, and SpainTakes account of the latest information on such topical concerns as nuclear waste, sports injuries, the World Trade Center memorial, the food pyramid, fashion trends, and electronic mediaIncludes student exercises, selected reading and additional suggested readings