The anthropology of Britain is hotly debated. What does it mean to live in Britain and to be ‘British’, and is an anthropology of Britain even a legitimate undertaking? British Subjects presents a forthright voice in this debate. Key anthropological concerns such as community, rationality, aesthetics, the body, power, work and leisure, nationalism and transnationalism are found reflected in the lives of a wide range of British ‘subjects’–from farmers to dancers, children to retired miners, new-agers to entrepreneurs. In disputing traditional claims that anthropology ‘at home’ and ‘of one’s own’ is misconceived, unnecessary or unperceptive, this book clearly establishes that an anthropology of Britain can set excellent standards of subtle ethnography and complex analysis. Providing a nuanced appreciation of the intricacies of British society, this book shows how the anthropological study of Britain can offer an enlightening paradigm for the study of individual lives.
Editorial Reviews
Review
This book will be a landmark in the history of the discipline. It is formidable in a host of ways: in the range of scale and range of approaches, in the subtlety and richness of its observations, in the issues it develops and by its critical acuity with regard to the selective tendencies of certain anthropologists in their study of minorities. – L’Homme
About the Author
Nigel Rapport Professor of Anthropological and Philosophical Studies,University of St. Andrews
The anthropology of Britain is hotly debated. What does it mean to live in Britain and to be ‘British’, and is an anthropology of Britain even a legitimate undertaking? British Subjects presents a forthright voice in this debate. Key anthropological concerns such as community, rationality, aesthetics, the body, power, work and leisure, nationalism and transnationalism are found reflected in the lives of a wide range of British ‘subjects’–from farmers to dancers, children to retired miners, new-agers to entrepreneurs. In disputing traditional claims that anthropology ‘at home’ and ‘of one’s own’ is misconceived, unnecessary or unperceptive, this book clearly establishes that an anthropology of Britain can set excellent standards of subtle ethnography and complex analysis. Providing a nuanced appreciation of the intricacies of British society, this book shows how the anthropological study of Britain can offer an enlightening paradigm for the study of individual lives.
Editorial Reviews
Review
This book will be a landmark in the history of the discipline. It is formidable in a host of ways: in the range of scale and range of approaches, in the subtlety and richness of its observations, in the issues it develops and by its critical acuity with regard to the selective tendencies of certain anthropologists in their study of minorities. – L’Homme
About the Author
Nigel Rapport Professor of Anthropological and Philosophical Studies,University of St. Andrews
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