Malinowski and the Work of Myth

Malinowski and the Work of Myth
Author: Ivan Strenski
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2014-07-14
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1400862809

Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942) was a wide-ranging thinker whose ideas affected almost every branch of the social sciences. And nowhere is this impact more evident or more persistent than on the study of myth, ritual, and religion. He articulated as never before or since a program of seeing myths as part of the functional, pragmatic, or performed dimension of culture--that is, as part of activities that did certain tasks for particular human communities. Spanning his entire career, this anthology brings together for the first time the important texts from his work on myth. Ivan Strenski's introduction places Malinowski in his intellectual world and traces his evolving conception of mythology. As Strenski points out, Malinowski was a pioneer in applying the lessons of psychoanalysis to the study of culture, while at the same time he attempted to correct the generalizations of psychoanalysis with the cross-cultural researches of ethnology. With his growing interest in psychoanalysis came a conviction that myths performed essential cultural tasks in "chartering" all sort of human institutions and practices. Originally published in 1992. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Structuralism and Functionalism. The Difference between Lévi-Strauss, Malinowski and Evans-Pritchard in Reference to Kinship

Structuralism and Functionalism. The Difference between Lévi-Strauss, Malinowski and Evans-Pritchard in Reference to Kinship
Author: Johannes Lenhard
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 13
Release: 2015-07-10
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3668013772

Essay from the year 2013 in the subject Ethnology / Cultural Anthropology, grade: 62%, University of Cambridge, language: English, abstract: Even though scholars directly involved in the discourse were themselves not able to clearly differentiate between structuralism, functionalism and the various combinations of the two terms, retrospectively, two lines have been drawn. The first is between functionalism which was brought forward by Malinowski and his followers at the LSE and structural-functionalism. The latter was historically developed as a direct reply to a Malinowskian individualism by Radcliffe-Brown, Fortes and Evans-Pritchard. The line this essay is going to blur separates structural-functionalism from originally French structuralism as coined by Levi-Strauss. I argue that those retrospective lines are nowadays often as artificial as they were for contemporary scholars in the early 1900s. Many commonalities – in their striving for universal laws, and even their fallacies – are contrasted by some differences, mainly in their treatment of fieldwork and the concept of structure. The different schools of thought were organically growing out of each other rendering the continuity of features natural. Only paying attention in passing to the earlier, ‘purely’ functionalist school of Malinowski, I compare the structural functionalism most clearly visible in Radcliffe-Brown with Levi-Strauss’ structuralism. Let me briefly put forward his arguments on methods in general as well as function and structure in particular before Levi-Strauss enters the analysis.

The Social Anthropology of Radcliffe-Brown

The Social Anthropology of Radcliffe-Brown
Author: Adam Kuper
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2013-11-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1136541098

This is the first collection of Radcliffe-Brown's work chosen to represent his books as well as his essays. It includes some classic pieces, and also one or two lesser-known items. Radcliffe-Brown was a pioneer who established structural, sociological anthropology, in the face of the entrenched traditions of ethnology and social evolutionism. First published in 1977.

Bronisław Malinowski and His Legacy in Contemporary Social Sciences and Humanities

Bronisław Malinowski and His Legacy in Contemporary Social Sciences and Humanities
Author: Grażyna Kubica
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2024-06-14
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 104004509X

As one of the most renowned figures in the history of anthropology, Bronisław Malinowski is recognised as having been central to the development of the discipline, with interpretations of his thought usually drawing attention to his work in founding the approach of functionalism and his innovative method of intensive field research. This book offers a decisive extension of Malinowski’s achievement, referring to the accomplishments of present‐day social sciences and humanities and the debts that they owe to Malinowksi’s oeuvre. Bringing together eminent scholars in such fields as social anthropology, sociology, law, cultural studies, literary and theatre studies, and art history, this book emphasises the importance of Malinowski’s theoretical and methodological insights as a treasure trove of inspiration for contemporary researchers. A critical commentary on the life, work, and legacy of Bronisłw Malinowski, it sheds light on his academic work, while personal documents, many of which are not well known – or are completely unknown – in the Anglophone sphere, prove their fundamental importance for understanding his oeuvre, and the intellectual connections between his work and the work of other most prominent intellectuals of the 20th and 21st centuries. It will therefore appeal to scholars across the social sciences and humanities with interests in the history of anthropology and sociology and fundamental questions of theory and research methodology.

The Nature and Types of Sociological Theory

The Nature and Types of Sociological Theory
Author: Don Martindale
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 579
Release: 2013-11-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1136225870

First Published in 1998. This is Volume XI of twenty-two in a series on Social Theory and Methodology. Notions are widespread that sociological theory is either an industrious activity on the drawing boards of the architects of fantasy or a branch of esoterics operating in a shadowy realm of semi-darkness. The present study holds neither of these conceptions of sociological. The present study’s function is to illuminate the difference between one theory and another. The power and reliability of a theory are not always evident all at once. A theory may have a power to explain what was not originally anticipated; it may also disclose the existence of problems it cannot explain.

Religion and Empire

Religion and Empire
Author: Geoffrey W. Conrad
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 292
Release: 1984-08-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521318969

A provocative, comparative study of the formation and expansion of the Aztec and Inca empires. Argues that prehistoric cultural development is largely determined by continual changes in traditional religion.

Bronislaw Malinowski's Concept of Law

Bronislaw Malinowski's Concept of Law
Author: Mateusz Stępień
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 113
Release: 2016-09-26
Genre: Law
ISBN: 3319420259

This book discusses the legal thought of Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942), undoubtedly one of the titans of social sciences who greatly influenced not only the shape of modern cultural anthropology but also the social sciences as a whole. This is the first comprehensive work to focus on his legal conceptions: while much has been written about his views on language, magic, religion, and culture, his views on law have not been fairly reconstructed or recapitulated. A glance at the existing literature illustrates how little has been written about Malinowski’s understanding of law, especially in the legal sciences. This becomes even more evident given the fact that Malinowski devoted much of his scholarly work to studying law, especially in the last period of his life, during which he conducted broad research on law and “primitive jurisprudence”. The main aim of this book is to address this gap and to present in detail Malinowski’s thoughts on law. The book is divided into two parts. Part I focuses largely on the impact that works of two distinguished professors from his alma mater (L. Dargun and S. Estreicher) had on Malinowski’s legal thoughts, while Part II reconstructs Malinowski’s inclusive, broad and multidimensional understanding of law and provides new readings of his legal conceptions mainly from the perspective of reciprocity. The book offers a fresh look at his views on law, paving the way for further studies on legal issues inspired by his methodological and theoretical achievements. Malinowski’s understanding of law provides a wealth of fodder from which to formulate interesting research questions and a solid foundation for developing theories that more accurately describe and explain how law functions, based on new findings in the social and natural sciences.