The Tapestry of Culture : An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

The Tapestry of Culture: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology provides students and the interested public with a concise picture of the field of cultural anthropology today. From the first edition of Tapestry of Culture published in the early 1980s until now, anthropology has changed greatly, responding to scholarly and political influences as well as changing generations; the ninth edition reflects this ongoing transformation. The influence of postmodernism has generated new debates over theory and practice in anthropology. The content of Tapestry explains these debates, as well as what is still generally accepted and agreed upon by most anthropologists. This edition provides the instructor, student and lay public with the information necessary to enable them to critically read the literature of anthropology, more specifically ethnographic texts which are still the heart of this field. The approach of the book is to accommodate the various points of view in anthropology today. It shows how the concepts, ideas and behavior of other cultures are translated into our culture's terms. Though today many emphasize each culture's uniqueness, the presence of cultural similarities is compelling. Using a comparative approach, The Tapestry of Culture reveals cultural similarities, as well as the cultural differences.

The most exciting thing about anthropology is that it enables the student to become acquainted with people of different cultures. The Tapestry of Culture provides the student with the basic concepts necessary to understand these different cultures while showing that cultural variations occur within certain limits. Though the forces of globalization have caused cultures of the world around us to become increasingly similar, the book shows that people nevertheless cling to ethnic identities, and their cultural distinctiveness.

Anthropology informs us about other peoples, and in the process we learn about ourselves.