Social Anthropology in Perspective - I. M. Lewis

In Social Anthropology in Perspective, renowned anthropologist I. M. Lewis offers a clear and wide-ranging introduction to the methods, theories and purpose of social anthropology. Written for students and general readers, the book explains how anthropologists study human societies through kinship, religion, politics, economics and ritual, while tracing the development of the discipline from its nineteenth-century origins to the major theoretical debates of the twentieth century.

Lewis examines the work of influential figures including Bronisław Malinowski, A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, Claude Lévi-Strauss and E. E. Evans-Pritchard, showing how different schools of thought have sought to understand social organisation and cultural meaning. Rather than presenting anthropology as a fixed body of knowledge, he explores it as an evolving field shaped by changing perspectives on colonialism, symbolism, structuralism and the relationship between culture and society.

Combining historical overview with discussions of ethnographic research from around the world, Social Anthropology in Perspective remains an accessible and thoughtful survey of one of the social sciences' most influential disciplines. It provides an excellent foundation for readers interested in understanding how anthropologists interpret the diversity of human cultures and social life.