Product Description
For courses in Forensic Anthropology and Forensic Science.

This reader is an essential supplement to a forensic anthropology text.  It provides case studies that demonstrate innovative approaches and practical experiences in the field. The book provides both introductory and advanced students with a strong sense of the cases in which forensic anthropologists become involved, along with their professional and ethical responsibilities, the scientific rigor required, and the multidisciplinary nature of the science.

Customer Reviews (3)

Good Read
This is an educational type book that doubles as pleasure reading. Very easy to read and full of thrilling cases.

Good Stuff
The book was in the shape described by the seller and i got it in a timely fashion.

Really interesting and helpful
This book gives you really good insight on the investigation of remains. I used this in my forensic anthropology class and it was very helpful in understanding all the different aspects that go into linking remains to an individual. It is much more interesting than a lot of forensic anthropology books out there because it gives specific case examples and has a lot of pictures. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

AWESOME-RECEIVED IMMEDIATELY
I WILL DEFINITELY ORDER FROM THIS VENDOR AGAIN FOR ANY OTHER BOOKS NEEDED. FAST AND DEPENDABLE. RECEIVED MY BOOK IN TIME FOR SCHOOL. BOOK WAS IN GOOD SHAPE AS PROMISED. VERY HAPPY CUSTOMER, THANKS AGAIN!!!! ... Read more

Product Description
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. ... Read more

Product Description
Explore cultural anthropology in an applied and fascinating way with Gary Ferraro's CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY: AN APPLIED PERSPECTIVE. This contemporary and student-relevant text gives you all the key material you need for your introductory course, plus it will show you that anthropology is for you! With real world applications of the principles and practices of anthropology, this book will help you learn to appreciate other cultures as well as your own. Apply what you learn in this course to those situations that you are likely to encounter in your personal and professional life. What can you do with anthropology today? Check out the real-life examples of cross-cultural misunderstandings and issues (in our popular "Cross-Cultural Miscues" features) to view 'culture at work.' Also, the book takes a look at specialized vocabularies as illustrated by "chickspeak" (the language of single, urban, upwardly mobile women), the war in Iraq, environmental degradation, and other contemporary topics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Cultural Anthropology
Good delivery time and book was in good condition.Would purchase from this seller again.

Intro to Anthro
This book was required for my Intro to Anthropology course.It is an interesting book, but I would not recommend it as a good text for an Intro class because it focuses only on cultural anthro, and aside from a brief mention, completely ignores the other sub fields of the discipline.It would be a good introduction to -cultural- anthropology but not to anthropology in general.The sub fields are so varied that one cannot take one and then assume that all other areas of the discipline are similar.It is true that they do overlap and each provides insight to the other, but do not assume this book will introduce you to all that you need to know about anthropology.

Highly Readable Textbook
How often can you say you actually read an entire textbook for a course?I read this whole book; it was that well-written.

The material is well presented, with plenty of examples from all over the world.The Cross-Cultural Miscues are frequently amusing and always informative.One of my favorites involved differences in humor across cultures.

This textbook made a freshman level basics course more enjoyable than one expects of that type of course.

Cultural Anthropology
This item was in good shape but it took over 3 weeks to get to me when it said that it would take 3-5 days. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Inspiring
Levi-Strauss ranks with Darwin for being hugely misunderstood. Like Darwin, what people say about Levi-Strauss is so often completely wrong that I strongly doubt he's ever really read.

Levi-Strauss believed that all cultures share the same basic characteristics. "Struturalism is the search for hidden harmonies," he said. One of my favorite quips from him is how interesting it is to see how the same personality type will be cast in different cultural roles--how the same basic humanity signifies radically different things to different cultures.

Levi-Strauss believed it is not important to try and figure out when a culture branched off from another, or what preceeded what: culture should be considered on its own terms. If a pot is interesting, it's interesting, no matter what its context.

The reason this physicist is curious about a dead anthropologist is that many of the misunderstandings of regular old evolution can be cleared up, as Saussure recommended, by considering both evolutionary history--how dinosaurs turned into birds--and evolutionary structure--why, at any given step in evolution, the dino-bird was best adapted to its enviornment. Gould has made a career out of clearing up this confusion; too bad our schools leave students in the dark.

And it's also interesting from the point of view of physics. Clouds, for instance, have a structure which is determined by wiggling water vapor. By looking at the shape of the clouds, we can determine just how the vapor is wiggling.

All cloud shapes can be predicted--not by solving deterministic physical laws (i.e. time evolution) but by making strucutral predictions based on guesses. It is a sort of physical law which corresponds to the structuralist view of evolution: at any given time, a cloud looks the way it does because it solves a kind of 'best fit' problem. It does *not* look that way because we can solve the time evolution; those equations are in principle unsolvable because the degrees of freedom is so high. The cause of cloud shape is not force or energy (which in physics are used to solve the time evolution of single or few bodies--vertical evolution), but information and order (which are used when the number of interacting elements is so high that only statistical arguments can be made--horizontal evolution).

A perfect example of structuralism was made by Leo Tolstoy in War and Peace. In it, he argued that the course of Russia's history was not written by Napoleon, and that following Napoleon's motivations (vertical evolution) gave one the illusion that he was in control of his own decisions. In fact, Russia's history was written by the sum total of its people, each influenced into their decisions by their immediate surroundings (horizontal evolution). History then emerges in the same manner as an ant society: one person puts down a pebble, only to have it picked up and put down again somewhere else, seemingly at random. Yet the colony has certain well-defined traits. In physics the colony would be said to be a self-organizing structure, what Stuart Kauffman calls 'order for free'. So too is human history, and attempting to ground it around Churchills and Napoleons is hen-picking.

Prigogine (a chemist) pointed Levi-Strauss out in his Nobel lecture. There's only a handful of people in the world who really understand why. I encourage you to find out!

PS: I remind the writer below of the Elements of Style rule: never enclose words in quotations, as though you were admitted to a secret world that knows better. Quotation marks are the authors' indication either that he knows the word he uses is poorly chosen, or that he doesn't actually know what it means.

Great work by a forerunner of Anthropology!
I personally consider this book to be one of the greatest works in the field of Anthropology. It is an exhaustive treatment on a particular way of looking at how Anthropology is performed. Through various examples fromdifferent cultures the author attempts to show how this *structural*approach to Anthropology is viewed. This book changed how many socialAnthropologists did their work. Written by one of the most pre-eminentAnthropologists of our time it will most undoubtly stand the test of timefor many decades to come. ... Read more

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Applying Anthropology: An Introductory Reader is a collection of articles that provides compelling examples of applied research in all four fields of anthropology. In this age of globalization and increased cultural intolerance, the basic messages of public anthropology are more important than ever. The ninth edition offers 11 new readings and a new chart at the beginning of the text to help instructors and students locate key themes and topics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Great experience.
I needed this for my class and I was worried that I wouldn't get it in time, but it got here within two days and I was really pleased with the packaging and speed.
The articles in the books are very interesting even for a personal read.

Fine for Use
Product had more damage than anticipated but was shipped to my house in a hurry which is what I needed most!

Engaging Reading
This is a phenomenal collection of essays, ranging from ancient agricultural techniques to the interpretation of Shakespeare in remote Africa. It provides basic, easy to read, and entirely absorbing examples of how the field of anthropology (as well as linguistics, sociology, archeology, paleontology, and more) is at work around the globe. Each reading is brief enough to engage even the most reluctant reader and no background experience is necessary to understand and enjoy them - although advanced students will not be disappointed.

Good book, really!
I generally hate my text books, but I found this one interesting. Go figure!

Nicely Done
Well, I thought I would get bored out of my mind but if you are searching for something to understand more about Anthropology...this is the one. The author dida great job in focusing on the basics and that was all I neededto get a boost on this subject....It was great! ... Read more

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Anthropology, provides its readers with a comprehensive and scientific introduction to the four fields of anthropology.  It helps them understand humans in all their variety, and why such variety exists.  This new thirteenth edition places an increased emphasis on immigration, migration and globalization.  It also showcases how anthropological skill sets can be applied beyond academia. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

nice and speedy
The book arrived in excellent condition - honestly, I work in a bookstore and I wish all the books we sold *new* were in such great shape.It looks like it was pulled from the distributers box and sent right to me.It arrived much faster than I thought I could expect.I will definately try to order from Textbook Charlie again.

Great price, great condition, fast shipping!
The title says it all. It came in at such a cheap price and i was skeptical but it was in great condition and neatly packaged. I was surprised and very happy. It also came in a timely manner!

Great Book! Swell Timing!
The shipping was fast and great! The book was in great condition and packaging was well put together.

Anthropology 11th edition
It took a little while to arrive, about 2 weeks so I had to catch up on the reading for class but this book saved me a lot of money. Compared to the ridiculous prices in my school bookstore. I payed, with shipping and handling, about 6 bucks and the school was selling the 12t edition for 102 dollars, used! The only difference between the 11th and 12th edition was a few pictures. Same written text, same material.

This is a STUDY GUIDE!
I had to return this purchase because this is a study guide, not a used textbook.I did not see it shown as a study guide at all.Very frustrating.It looked like a good study guide, but not really useful to me based on my instructor's syllabus. ... Read more

Product Description
In this compact volume, two of anthropology's most influential theorists, Paul Rabinow and George E. Marcus, engage in a series of conversations about the past, present, and future of anthropological knowledge and practice. James Faubion joins in several exchanges to facilitate and elaborate the dialogue, and Tobias Rees moderates the discussions and contributes an introduction and an afterword to the volume. Most of the conversations are focused on contemporary challenges to how anthropology understands its subject and how ethnographic research projects are designed and carried out. Rabinow and Marcus reflect on what remains distinctly anthropological about the study of contemporary events and processes, and they contemplate productive new directions for the field. The two converge in Marcus's emphasis on the need to redesign pedagogical practices for training anthropological researchers and in Rabinow's proposal of collaborative initiatives in which ethnographic research designs could be analyzed, experimented with, and transformed.

Both Rabinow and Marcus participated in the milestone collection Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. Published in 1986, Writing Culture catalyzed a reassessment of how ethnographers encountered, studied, and wrote about their subjects. In the opening conversations of Designs for an Anthropology of the Contemporary, Rabinow and Marcus take stock of anthropology's recent past by discussing the intellectual scene in which Writing Culture intervened, the book's contributions, and its conceptual limitations. Considering how the field has developed since the publication of that volume, they address topics including ethnography's self-reflexive turn, scholars' increased focus on questions of identity, the Public Culture project, science and technology studies, and the changing interests and goals of students. Designs for an Anthropology of the Contemporary allows readers to eavesdrop on lively conversations between anthropologists who have helped to shaped their field's recent past and are deeply invested in its future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Rethinking the Contemporary
Reviewing several axial moments of canonical anthropology, Rabinow and Marcus challenge ethnographers to reimagine what fieldwork is and to reconceptualize long accepted methods in ethnographic research. Building on Nietzsche's notion of the untimely, Rabinow urges his readers not to overdetermine the role of history in shaping the contemporary. As Rabinow understands it, the contemporary is an atemporal space determined not so much by history as by rapid technological innovations. Both Marcus and Rabinow agree that instituting new methods and approaches that attempt to interpret the contemporary must begin with pedagogy. For those interested in radical reconceptualizations of social space and the means to interpret it, this book is highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Ideal for any Cultural Anthropology course, this brief and inexpensive collection of ethnographic case studies exposes students to fifteen different cultures. Culture Sketches introduces students to ethnography without overwhelming them with excessive reading material. Each sketch, or chapter, was selected for its relevance to students and for its ability to reflect the basic concepts found in introductory courses. All sketches follow a logical, consistent organization that makes it easy for students to understand major themes such as geography, myth creation, history, sociopolitical systems, and belief systems. The new edition offers a new chapter, "The Roma: Romanipe, Rights, and the Road Ahead", adding geographic breadth to the text. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Great book!
I had to buy this book for my anthropology class..... I really liked the book.It wasn't a difficult read, but gave the information in an easy to read yet fun way.

Easy reading
Book is split into small chapters with maps and photos.Very clear and to the point on each culture, pointing out the unique characteristics of each.Includes very interesting facts, especially about certain groups.Informative and educational while being easy to read, so I gave it 5 stars.

Great
The price for the book was very far and was delivered in the time allotment.

Interesting and Informative
Very interesting if you are like learning about the world's cultures. Tons of information and very understandable. Definitely recommend for the higher education seeker. :)

A Winner for College Course
This was "required" reading for my college course in Anthropology. It is well laid out, informative, and interesting if you have a real desire to learn about diverse cultures. As always, Amazon's delivery was quick and efficient. ... Read more

Product Description
A significant update of the 1990 classic state-of-the-art handbook on medical anthropology. With new chapters on AIDS, psychology and emotion, nutrition, and bioethics, the text reflects the changes in medical anthropological theory and practice since the late 1980s. Chapters from the first edition are revised to reflect current trends and to include recent references. This work demonstrates the creative expansion and diversity in the field, amidst efforts to explore the individual sickness experience in the context of local cultures and global political and economic dynamics. ... Read more

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This book is a fascinating account of an uncertain human science seeking to transcend its unsavory history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Superficial and Fragmented
I've read several excellent books in this series, which means that this "cartoon" format can work well in the hands of a skilled author, but this particular book is quite disappointing.

The primary problem is simply that the book drops plenty of terminology, names, and dates, thus giving the impression that something is being said with some sophistication, but it turns out that no topic is covered beyond a superficial level.Compounding this problem is the fact that the book jumps abruptly from topic to topic, with no apparent overall structure or integration, so the presentation is quite fragmentary.The result of these problems is that reading this book feels like reading a glossary rather than a coherent monograph.

Moreover, those who are new to the subject of anthropology are unlikely to learn much, and might even form a poor impression of what should be a fascinating and engaging subject.Part of the fault may be attributable to confusions within academic anthropology itself (maybe the general study of mankind is just too hard), but I still think this book has to take much of the blame.

Perhaps the only upside is that you can finish the book quickly, but a little bit of time wasted is still wasted time.

A cartoon introduction
This is kind of a neat book, but not what I was looking for. It's a VERY basic comic book of sorts to give you a very general idea of anthropology terms and ideas. If you're looking for an anthro for dummies type thing, this isn't it.

A frenetic, navel-gazing introduction
I am a big fan of the "Introducing" series and in most cases find them to be entertaining as well as edifying. I was a bit disappointed with the the anthropology one in that it tends to radically jump from one topic to another with each flip of a page. Also, like a lot of particularly boring contemporary anthropology, it spends too much time reflecting on the criticisms of anthropology and way too little time on the usefulness of the information collected and analyzed by anthropologists. To write that "Anthropology has not assisted in equalizing power or disparities in wealth between the West and the Other (sic)..." (pg. 171) is both plain poppycock in that much of what anthropology does elevates the visiblity and power of people in diverse cultures, and is ridiculous in assuming that anthropologists have the numbers or power to influence governments and international capital. It is like blaming the Shakers for the moral decline of the world.
I suspect much of my criticism is due to the impossibility of using the format of the "Introducing" series to cover a topic as broad as anthropology.I liked the Levi-Strauss and the Noam Chomsky books in the series, but I think it is inherently easier to create a coherent introduction to single scholars. ... Read more

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The Anthropology of Development and Globalization is a collection of readings that provides an unprecedented overview of this field that ranges from the field’s classical origins to today’s debates about the “magic” of the free market.

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The Anthropology of Media: A Reader is an unprecedented collection of articles that, taken together, define the emergent field of the anthropology of mass media. Anthropologists – traditionally hailed as interpreters of cultural "Others" – no longer serve as the primary interlocutors for the communities with which they work. Owing to the spread of mass media and new forms of expression and communication, anthropologists have been displaced by CNN, Hollywood, the Internet, and other global media in presenting and representing unfamiliar cultures to the majority of our world. People everywhere are seeing and hearing themselves and others in new ways, and have picked up these media to use for their own purposes. The Anthropology of Media offers a critical overview of how mass media represent and construct both Western and non-Western cultures. By drawing on the recent explosion of culture and media studies and moving beyond earlier anthropological emphases on ethnographic film, this volume heralds the emergence of a new field and brings its key literature together for the first time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Anthropology of Media: A Reader (Blackwell Readers in Anthropology) (Purchased on 09/26/2009) by Kelly Askew
The book came on time, that I appreciate-- but within a week the first chapter had ripped out of the binding! By the end of the semester the thing will surely be in pieces. ... Read more

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The Forensic Anthropology Training Manual, 2/e  is designed to serve three purposes: to be used as a general introduction to the field of forensic anthropology; as a framework for training; and as a practical reference tool. This book will make readers aware of the challenges and responsibilities of the forensic scientist, the multidisciplinary nature of the work, and the international potential for the forensic sciences. The manual examines physical evidence, death investigation specialists, forensic anthropology, human Osteology, human Odontology, laboratory analysis, field methods, professional results, and human rights applications. For those seeking basic knowledge necessary to collect and process skeletonized human remains.

Customer Reviews (6)

Amazing Forensic Anthropology Training Manual
This book is amazing for the beginning learner on forensic anthropology. Even for someone who needs to brush up on their skills, this book is awesome. It has absolutely everything you would need to know from locating a grave to court trial procedures to professionalism guidelines and report writting skills. This book is SO helpful for a student just starting to learn about forensic anthropology and everything that goes along with it. I definitely recommend this book for beginning forensic anthropology classes as it is extremely useful. It will help with field work, court work and everything in between.

Excellent
Product came earlier than expected. Was in great condition, would recommend seller to other buyers! :]

Learn Your Bones First, Then The Foresics.
The book is very practical and straight forward while giving enough information to continue your reading.

GREAT BOOK
I used this book for my Intro to Foensic Anbthropology class and continued to use it in Grad School. It is the only book I can find that has age determination from sternal rib ends.(not even "Standards" has it). HIGHLY recommend!

THIS BOOK IS GREAT!!!!
I am physician-lawyer from the Philippines. I practice in the field of Clinical Forensic Medicine with special interest in Forensic Anthropology. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in forensics-be they lawyers, physicians, judges and law enforcement officers. This book is "the" book if you want to get started in forensic anthropology and forensic osteology.It provides an introduction to osteology and how it is used to determine age, sex and race. The book outlines the basics of laboratory analysis of skeletal remains, field methods used in forensic anthropology,documentation, report writing, court testimony, and human rights application of forensic anthropology. Forensic forms used in actual cases are even included.

The book is highly recommended to students of forensic anthropology and a must read for professionals from other subspeciaties of forensics, lawyers and judges who deal with forensic cases. ... Read more

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Many serious public health problems confront the world in the new millennium. Anthropology and Public Health examines the critical role of anthropology in four crucial public health domains: (1) anthropological understandings of public health problems such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and diabetes; (2) anthropological design of public health interventions in areas such as tobacco control and elder care; (3) anthropological evaluations of public health initiatives such as Safe Motherhood and polio eradication; and (4) anthropological critiques of public health policies, including neoliberal health care reforms. As the volume demonstrates, anthropologists provide crucial understandings of public health problems from the perspectives of the populations in which the problems occur. On the basis of such understandings, anthropologists may develop and implement interventions to address particular public health problems, often working in collaboration with local participants. Anthropologists also work as evaluators, examining the activities of public health institutions and the successes and failures of public health programs. Anthropological critiques may focus on major international public health agencies and their workings, as well as public health responses to the threats of infectious disease and other disasters. Through twenty-four compelling case studies from around the world, the volume provides a powerful argument for the imperative of anthropological perspectives, methods, information, and collaboration in the understanding and practice of public health. Written in plain English, with significant attention to anthropological methodology, the book should be required reading for public health practitioners, medical anthropologists, and health policy makers. It should also be of interest to those in the behavioral and allied health sciences, as well as programs of public health administration, planning, and management. As the single most comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of anthropology's role in public health, this volume will inform debates about how to solve the world's most pressing public health problems at a critical moment in human history. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Important ethnographic study of cell phones
In a global environment where mobile technologies are making impressive and influential in-roads into many societis and cultures, this ethnographically based study of the impact of cell phones on low-income populations in Jamaica is a valuable piece of scholarship. Based on two-years of ethnographic study in a rural and urban area of Jamaica, Horst and Miller's effort to construct an 'anthropology of communication' is accessible, yet strongly grounded in theory.Through avoiding technological and socially deterministic approaches and carefully examining the contradictions inherent in the deployment of cell phones throughout poorer sections of Jamaican society, the advantages and difficulties of this new technology are presented clearly, wreathed in the complications of everyday Jamaican life.The use of extensive ethnographic data (impressive in its scope) presented as short case studies, provide a clear sense of realism for the contextualisation of their examination of communication as an anthropological experience, with impacts for economics and policy.In examining the Jamaican experience specifically, this work may be limited in its use in other contexts, but still provides an important model for researchers in similar areas. Grounded in the reality of everyday Jamaican life, "The Cell Phone" succeeds as "...a study of the changes that document and demonstrate what a cell phone can turn into in the hands of a Jamaican, and what a Jamaican can become when they have their hands on a cell phone."(181)

An important piece of scholarship for anyone interested in the impact of technologies on people, cultures and societies. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent
A great introduction and reference for film, media studies, and visual anthropology students, Cinema, provides an insightful look into the world of visual culture. Comprehensive and thoughtfully written, this book covers everything from the history of the moving picture to contemporary film theory. Yet, this is not just an ordinary textbook. Gordon Gray sets up a launch pad for further exploration into an anthropological approach to media and the value of media for anthropological study. This can only help to bring something new and positive to the disciplines of media studies and anthropology. ... Read more

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Unique in focus and content, this book is the first to focus on the "how" of teaching anthropology across all of its subfields--Cultural-Social, Biological, Archaeology, and Linguistics (and their two dimensions: research and applied studies)--and to provide a wide array of associated learning outcomes and student activities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great ideas for teaching cultural anthropology
The book gives great ideas for teaching cultural anthropology that getthe students more involved with the material. There are ideas for assignments as well as in-class activities. I am currently trying out one of the assignments, which seems to be very good. All in all, if the last thing you want to do is hear the sound of your own voice for 2 or 3 hours a week, buy this. You can't lose. It's especially good for new teachers.

Tools for Participatory Education
I work in various communities delivering community-based anthropology courses in a very short period of time from one week to a month.The activities and teaching strategies offered in this book are very practical and respond to a change in the field of education.The activities described in the book are easy to prepare and implement (and are fun to do).Most of the authors describe various in-class problems with which they were trying to address.Some authors also provide ideas to modify the activities according to the side of the class or the availability of resources.If you want to go beyond the straight lecture style of teaching this book certainly provides many ideas for creative teaching to stimulate consciousness-raising and encourage student participation.Two activities that stand out are "The Penny Game: An Exercise in Non-Industrial Economics" which examined the importance of reciprocity, and "The Trouble with the 'Race' Concept: It's All in the Cards" which enacts the problems in trying to classify "races".Other essays provide very practical strategies for preparing students for critical thinking, writing essays, critiquing films, participating in field visits to museums, and doing field research (excavating and interviews). ... Read more

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Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View essentially reflects the last lectures Kant gave for his annual course in anthropology, which he taught from 1772 until his retirement in 1796. The lectures were published in 1798, with the largest first printing of any of Kant's works. Intended for a broad audience, they reveal not only Kant's unique contribution to the newly emerging discipline of anthropology, but also his desire to offer students a practical view of the world and of humanity's place in it. With its focus on what the human being 'as a free-acting being makes of himself or can and should make of himself,' the Anthropology also offers readers an application of some central elements of Kant's philosophy. This volume offers a new annotated translation of the text by Robert B. Louden, together with an introduction by Manfred Kuehn that explores the context and themes of the lectures. ... Read more