The question of what identities are and what they signify is central to the study of anthropology. Just as significant is the related concept of boundaries, the things which distinguish the identity of one group or individual from others.
This collection examines the ways in which relations between members of national, ethnic, cultural and gender groups are underpinned by each group’s perceptions of their distinctive identities and of the nature of the boundaries which divide them. Questions of boundary and identity are confronted in detailed ethnographic case studies, ranging from Australasia and the Indian subcontinent to Europe and the Americas.
The theoretical arguments and ethnographic perspectives of this book place it at the cutting edge of contemporary anthropological scholarship on identity. It will be of value to scholars and students of social and cultural anthropology, human geography and social psychology.
The author
Anthony P. Cohen is Professor of Social Anthropology, and Provost of Law and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. |