The Anthropology of Smell
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This book discusses the meaning of smell from a socio-cultural perspective and brings important considerations of smell and olfaction beyond anatomy and physiology in an erudite, reader-friendly style. It addresses ideas about smell and odor in culturally diverse contexts; pays attention to the subtle ways in which smell is expressed; treats smell as part of memory, prejudice, rumor, and sexuality; offers insights into the role of smell in religion, literature, film art, intangible cultural heritage, and museum practices, with particular attention to the challenges posed by historical smells; describes the legal regulation of smell and the background to scent marketing that seeks to influence consumer buying habits, adding a unique and practical dimension to the content. In addition to philosophical and medical historical aspects, the book offers insights into the evolution, diagnosis and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the human sense of smell and illustrates how our environment and societal influences shape our sensory perceptions and thus our attitudes and interpretation of the olfactory world around us. From an anthropological perspective, the book looks at olfactory heritage, cultural traditions, and the symbolism of the nose in different societies. Overall, it offers a comprehensive and thought-provoking cultural examination of the sense of smell -- a sense that is often underestimated -- while broadening our understanding of the world of smell and its role in our lives. "Ramsak's research provides valuable insights into the relationship between smell and culture, including its influence on identity, memory, social interactions, cultural practices, and beliefs. The book is a valuable resource for sensory anthropology, olfactory and intangible heritage." Prof. Dr. Katja Hrobat Virloget, University of Primorska, The Faculty of Humanities, Department of Anthropology and Cultural Studies, Koper, Slovenia "The remarkable depth and breadth of the subtle connection between smell and culture is testament to Ramsak's deep engagement with the subject and her exceptional understanding of the global patterns of cultural connotations associated with smell." Prof. Dr. Sophie Elpers, The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meertens Institut, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Beyond the Body Proper: Reading the Anthropology of Material Life
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Beyond the Body Proper includes nine sections conceptually organized around themes such as everyday life, sex and gender, and science. Each section is preceded by interpretive commentary by the volume's editors. Within the collection are articles and book excerpts focused on bodies using tools and participating in rituals, on bodies walking and eating, and on the female circumcision controversy, as well as pieces on medical classifications, spirit possession, the commodification of body parts, in vitro fertilization, and an artist/anatomist's "plastination" of cadavers for display.
A Companion to Medical Anthropology, 2nd ed.
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The fully revised new edition of the defining reference work in the field of medical anthropology A Companion to Medical Anthropology, Second Edition provides the most complete account of the key issues and debates in this dynamic, rapidly growing field. Bringing together contributions by leading international authorities in medical anthropology, this comprehensive reference work presents critical assessments and interpretations of a wide range of topical themes, including global and environmental health, political violence and war, poverty, malnutrition, substance abuse, reproductive health, and infectious diseases. Throughout the text, readers explore the global, historical, and political factors that continue to influence how health and illness are experienced and understood. The second edition is fully updated to reflect current controversies and significant new developments in the anthropology of health and related fields. More than twenty new and revised articles address research areas including war and health, illicit drug abuse, climate change and health, colonialism and modern biomedicine, activist-led research, syndemics, ethnomedicines, biocommunicability, COVID-19, and many others. Highlighting the impact medical anthropologists have on global health care policy and practice, A Companion to Medical Anthropology, Second Edition: Features specially commissioned articles by medical anthropologists working in communities worldwide Discusses future trends and emerging research areas in the field Describes biocultural approaches to health and illness and research design and methods in applied medical anthropology Addresses topics including chronic diseases, rising levels of inequality, war and health, migration and health, nutritional health, self-medication, and end of life care Part of the acclaimed Wiley Blackwell Companions to Anthropology series, A Companion to Medical Anthropology, Second Edition, remains an indispensable resource for medical anthropologists, as well as an excellent textbook for courses in medical anthropology, ethnomedicine, global health care, and medical policy.
A Companion to the Anthropology of the Body and Embodiment
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Covers historical and contemporary approaches and frameworks related to the increasing importance of embodiment and its ethnographic contexts within anthropology
Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures
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This updated and augmented third edition of this landmark encyclopedia contains approximately 1000 entries dealing in depth with the history of the scientific, technological and medical accomplishments of cultures outside of the United States and Europe. The entries consist of fully updated articles together with hundreds of entirely new topics adorned with full color pictures. This unique reference work includes intercultural articles on broad topics such as mathematics and astronomy as well as thoughtful philosophical articles on concepts and ideas related to the study of non-Western Science, such as rationality, objectivity, and method. You'll also find material on religion and science, East and West, and magic and science. This amazing resource even contains entries on fascinating esoteric topics such as Native American mathematics, Polynesian navigation, and African Metallurgy. There are also biographical articles for those cultures where individual scientists are known to us, such as China and the Islamic world
Handbook of Social Sciences and Global Public Health
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This handbook highlights the relevance of the social sciences in global public health and their significantly crucial role in the explanation of health and illness in different population groups, the improvement of health, and the prevention of illnesses around the world. Knowledge generated via social science theories and research methodologies allows healthcare providers, policy-makers, and politicians to understand and appreciate the lived experience of their people, and to provide sensitive health and social care to them at a time of most need. Social sciences, such as medical sociology, medical anthropology, social psychology, and public health are the disciplines that examine the sociocultural causes and consequences of health and illness. It is evident that biomedicine cannot be the only answer to improving the health of people. What makes social sciences important in global public health is the critical role social, cultural, economic, and politicalfactors play in determining or influencing the health of individuals, communities, and the larger society and nation. This handbook is comprehensive in its nature and contents, which range from a more disciplinary-based approach and theoretical and methodological frameworks to different aspects of global public health. It covers: Discussions of the social science disciplines and their essence, concepts, and theories relating to global public health Theoretical frameworks in social sciences that can be used to explain health and illness in populations Methodological inquiries that social science researchers can use to examine global public health issues and understand social issues relating to health in different population groups and regions Examples of social science research in global public health areas and concerns as well as population groups The Handbook of Social Sciences and Global Public Health is a useful reference for students, researchers, lecturers, practitioners, and policymakers in global health, public health, and social science disciplines; and libraries in universities and health and social care institutions. It offers readers a good understanding of the issues that can impact the health and well-being of people in society, which may lead to culturally sensitive health and social care for people that ultimately will lead to a more equitable society worldwide.
The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Body Modification
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Body modification practices express identity, conform to social norms, and convey cultural values that express cultural, social, and individual meanings. The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Body Modification provides a comprehensive understanding of these practices, addressing evolving cultures and identities, while also revealing the universal human desire to transcend the ordinary and connect with something greater. By exploring practices such as cranial shaping, teeth filing, tattooing, body piercing, and other modifications, this comprehensive volume sheds light on the evolution and diversification of body modification across time and space. The Handbook's opening chapters synthesize the origins of body modification, examining the chronological emergence of clothing, body painting, and adornments across continents to introduce the deep connections between body modifications and social identity, focusing on rituals, gender, and symbolism in historical and archaeological contexts. Later chapters delve into cranial and dental modifications, tattooing, and body piercing, examining the cultural significance of these practices and the methods used to perform them. The final sections of the Handbook address other body alterations, including genital modifications and finger amputation. Museum collections are also examined, presenting a wide array of artifacts and visual media, including human remains, showing how they can be studied to understand past cultural contexts in a novel way. Throughout the Handbook, Indigenous perspectives and methodologies are highlighted, offering insight into the amuletic function of tattoos and the relational practice of body modifications. It is important to note that colonization has stopped the cultural transmission of many of these practices, the value and dignity of which the Handbook attempts to restore. Taken together, the chapters in The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Body Modification represent a unique and groundbreaking synthesis of scholarship on this widespread yet often misunderstood aspect of human culture.
The Routledge Handbook of Anthropology and Global Health
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The Routledge Handbook of Anthropology and Global Health provides an overview of the complex relationship between anthropology and global health. It is an essential resource for upper-level students and researchers in Anthropology, Global Health, Sociology, International Development, Health Studies, and Politics.
The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Anthropology
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The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Anthropology encompasses major specialities as well as key interdisciplinary themes relevant to the field.
The Handbook of Sociocultural Anthropology
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The Handbook of Sociocultural Anthropology presents a state of the art overview of the subject - its methodologies, current debates, history and future. It will provide the ultimate source of authoritative, critical descriptions of all the key aspects of the discipline as well as a consideration of the general state of the discipline at a time when there is notable uncertainty about its foundations, composition and direction. Divided into five core sections, the Handbook: examines the changing theoretical and analytical orientations that have led to new ways of carrying out research; presents an analysis of the traditional historical core and how the discipline has changed since 1980; considers the ethnographic regions where work has had the greatest impact on anthropology as a whole; outlines the people and institutions that are the context in which the discipline operates, covering topics from research funding to professional ethics.Bringing together leading international scholars, the Handbook provides a guide to the latest research in social and cultural anthropology. Presenting a systematic overview - and offering a wide range of examples, insights and analysis - it will be an invaluable resource for researchers and students in anthropology as well as cultural and social geography, cultural studies and sociology.
Encyclopedia of Anthropology
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The Routledge Companion to Contemporary Anthropology
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The Routledge Companion to Contemporary Anthropology is an invaluable guide and major reference source for students and scholars alike, introducing its readers to key contemporary perspectives and approaches within the field. Written by an experienced international team of contributors, with an interdisciplinary range of essays, this collection provides a powerful overview of the transformations currently affecting anthropology. The volume both addresses the concerns of the discipline and comments on its construction through texts, classroom interactions, engagements with various publics, and changing relations with other academic subjects. Persuasively demonstrating that a number of key contemporary issues can be usefully analyzed through an anthropological lens, the contributors cover important topics such as globalization, law and politics, collaborative archaeology, economics, religion, citizenship and community, health, and the environment. The Routledge Companion to Contemporary Anthropology is a fascinating examination of this lively and constantly evolving discipline.
