Building a New Biocultural Synthesis: Political-Economic Perspectives on Human Biology (Linking Levels Of Analysis)

Shows the potential for a reintegrated, critical, and politically relevant biocultural anthropology | Anthropology, with its dual emphasis on biology and culture, is—or should be—the discipline most suited to the study of the complex interactions between these aspects of our lives. Unfortunately, since the early decades of this century, biological and cultural anthropology have grown distinct, and a holistic vision of anthropology has suffered. This book brings culture and biology back together in new and refreshing ways. Directly addressing earlier criticisms of biological anthropology, Building a New Biocultural Synthesis concerns how culture and political economy affect human biology—e.g., people's nutritional status, the spread of disease, exposure to pollution—and how biological consequences might then have further effects on cultural, social, and economic systems. Contributors to the volume offer case studies on health, nutrition, and violence among prehistoric and historical peoples in the Americas; theoretical chapters on nonracial approaches to human variation and the development of critical, humanistic and political ecological approaches in biocultural anthropology; and explorations of biological conditions in contemporary societies in relationship to global changes. Building a New Biocultural Synthesis will sharpen and enrich the relevance of anthropology for understanding a wide variety of struggles to cope with and combat persistent human suffering. It should appeal to all anthropologists and be of interest to sister disciplines such as nutrition and sociology. Alan H. Goodman is Professor of Anthropology, Hampshire College. Thomas L. Leatherman is Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of South Carolina. Traversing The Chasm Between Biology And Culture : An Introduction / Alan H. Goodman And Thomas L. Leatherman -- The Evolution Of Human Adaptability Paradigms : Toward A Biology Of Poverty / R. Brooke Thomas -- Political Economy And Social Fields / William Roseberry -- The Development Of Critical Medical Anthropology : Implications For Biological Anthropology / Merrill Singer -- Linking Political Economy And Human Biology : Lessons From North American Archaeology / Dean J. Saitta -- The Biological Consequences Of Inequality In Antiguity / Alan H. Goodman -- Owning The Sins Of The Past : Historical Trends, Missed Opportunities, And New Directions In The Study Of Human Remains / Debra L. Martin. Nature, Nurture, And The Determinants Of Infant Mortality : A Case Study From Massachussetts, 1830-1920 / Alan C. Swedlund And Helen Ball -- Unequel In Death As In Life : A Sociopolitical Analysis Of The 1813 Mexico City Typhus Epidemic / Lourdes Márquez Morfin -- Illness, Social Relations, And Household Production And Reproduction In The Andes Of Southern Peru / Thomas L. Leatherman -- On The (un)natural History Of The Tupi-mondé Indians : Bioanthropology And Change In The Brazilian Amazon / Ricardo V. Santos And Carlos E. A. Coimbra Jr. -- The Political Ecology Of Population Increase And Malnutrition In Southern Honduras / Billie R. Dewalt. The Biocultural Impact Of Tourism On Mayan Communities / Magali Daltabuit And Thomas L. Leatherman -- Poverty And Nutrition In Eastern Kentucky : The Political Economy Of Childhood Growth / Deborah L. Crooks -- Race, Racism, And Anthropology / George J. Armelagos And Alan H. Goodman -- Beyond European Enlightenment : Toward A Critical And Humanistic Human Biology / Michael L. Blakey -- Latin American Social Medicine And The Politics Of Theory / Lynn M. Morgan -- Nature, Political Ecology, And Social Practice : Toward An Academic And Political Agenda / Sr̜en Hvalkof And Arturo Escobar -- What Could Be : Biocultural Anthropology For The Next Generation / Gavin A. Smith And R. Brooke Thomas. Edited By Alan H. Goodman And Thomas L. Leatherman. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Anthropology, with its dual emphasis on biology and culture, is--or should be--the discipline most suited to the study of the complex interactions between these aspects of our lives. Unfortunately, since the early decades of this century, biological and cultural anthropology have grown distinct, and a holistic vision of anthropology has suffered. This book brings culture and biology back together in new and refreshing ways. Directly addressing earlier criticisms of biological anthropology, Building a New Biocultural Synthesis concerns how culture and political economy affect human biology--e.g., people's nutritional status, the spread of disease, exposure to pollution--and how biological consequences might then have further effects on cultural, social, and economic systems. -- Amazon.com