South Coast New Guinea Cultures: History, Comparison, Dialectic

by Bruce M. Knauft

Overview

South coast New Guinea has long been a focus of ethnographic attention, with its varied cultures, its reputation for flamboyant sexual practices, and its traditions of headhunting. Dr. Knauft examines previous ethnographic material to reanalyze the region's seven major language-culture areas, covering a range of topics including sexuality, social inequality, the status of women, religion, politics and violence. Ethnographically rich and theoretically sophisticated, this book will be essential reading for all those interested in Melanesia, and should be read by anyone concerned with the problems of cultural comparison.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521429313
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/25/1993
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology , #89
Pages:	316
Product dimensions:	5.91(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.67(d)

Table of Contents

Part I. Grounding: 1. Theoretical and ethnographic context; 2. Historical background and regional configuration; Part II. Critique: 3. Sexuality in the regional analysis of south New Guinea; 4. The analytic legacy of homosexual emphasis: language, subsistence, and political economy; 5. Women's status; 6. Trends in comparative analysis; Part III. Reconfiguration: 7. Theoretical reconfiguration; 8. Marind-anim; 9. Symbolic and sociopolitical permutations; 10. Regional characteristics and comparisons; Appendix; Notes; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"In the 1990s, a comparative ethnography of a region extending some 2,500 kilometers must be either very old-fashioned or postmodern. This work has the virtues of both....The result is a stimulating and useful book." Choice

From the Publisher