Culture and Anomie: Ethnographic Imagination in the Nineteenth Century

摘要: Few ideas are as important and pervasive in the discourse of twentieth century idea culture. Yet culture, Christopher Herbert contends, is an laden from its inception with ambiguity contradiction. In Culture Anomie, conducts inquiry into historical emergence modern culture that at same time extended critical analysis perplexities suppressed associations underlying our own exploitation this term. Making wide reference to twentieth-century anthropologists Malinowski Benedict Evans-Pritchard, Geertz, Levi-Strauss well nineteenth-century social theorists like Tylor, Spencer, Mill, Arnold, stresses philosophically dubious, unstable character has clung "culture" embarrassed exponents even it was developing a central principle interpretation. series detailed studies ranging political economy missionary ethnography, Mayhew, Trollope's fiction, then focuses on intellectual circumstances gave appearance secure category scientific despite apparent logical incoherence. What he describes intimate relationship between antithesis, myth or fantasy state boundless human desire-a conception binds single tradition thought such seemingly incompatible writers John Wesley, who called original sin, Durkheim, technical name sociology: anomie. Methodologically provocative rich unorthodox conclusions, "Culture Anomie" will be interest not only specialists literature history, but also readers across range fields which concept plays determining role."