About this Book

This best-selling collection of engaging articles has enlivened cultural anthropology courses for decades. The lead editor of the sixteenth edition, Dianna Shandy, first encountered Conformity and Conflict as an undergraduate and began teaching from the book in 1999. From the first through the sixteenth edition, the editors have chosen classic works and solicited original pieces that powerfully illuminate the nature of culture and its influence on people’s lives. One of the overarching principles through the years has been to include material on North American cultures so readers can make their own cultural comparisons and see the relevance of anthropology to their own lives. Readers sharpen critical thinking skills as they examine their assumptions, identify perspectives, and assess their beliefs.

Selections are organized around topics found in many textbooks and courses, facilitating usage by instructors who do not want to assign a standard text. Part introductions include discussion of many basic anthropological definitions. Article introductions coherently and systematically link selections to anthropological concepts. Sections and selections include environmental, global, and practicing anthropological subfields as well as traditional interests such as language, gender, kinship, economics, politics, law, inequality, and religion. The forty readings in this collection cover a broad range of theoretical perspectives, juxtaposing classic and contemporary ethnographic work to introduce students to a broad range of authors. The selections provide a fascinating way to look at human experience and make sense of the world around us.