Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 252
•
Trim: 6¼ x 9¼
978-0-7591-2253-6 • Hardback • January 2014 • $152.00 • (£117.00)
978-0-7591-2254-3 • Paperback • January 2014 • $59.00 • (£45.00)
978-0-7591-2255-0 • eBook • January 2014 • $56.00 • (£43.00)
Luke Eric Lassiter is professor of humanities and anthropology and director of the Graduate Humanities Program at Marshall University.
Preface to the Fourth Edition
PART I: Anthropology, Culture, and Ethnography
1. Evolution and the Critique of Race: A Short Story
2. Anthropology and Culture
3. Ethnography
PART II: Ethnology: Some Human Issues
4. History, Change, and Adaptation: On the Roots of Our World System
5. Sex, Power, and Inequality: On Gender
6. Work, Success, and Kids: On Marriage, Family, and Kinship
7. Knowledge, Belief, and Disbelief: On Religion
Afterword
Glossary
Bibliography and Suggested Readings
Index
About the Author
Fresh, exciting, relevant and extremely useful to students and faculty alike. (Previous Edition Praise)
— Lee D. Baker, Duke University
Lassiter's introduction to anthropology promises to keep deep and strong contact with real currents of today's life and to pull students into those currents. (Previous Edition Praise)
— James L. Peacock III, author, The Anthropological Lens; University of North Carolina; former president, American Anthropological Association; and chair, Committee formulating the 1998 AAA code of ethics
Seldom have students announced in class that they enjoyed reading a text book, yet my students did this very thing, raving aboutInvitation to Anthropology’s ease of use, small, size, and, more importantly, how clearly it presented the concepts of cultural anthropology. (Previous Edition Praise)
— Sebastian LeBeau II, Minnesota State University - Mankato
Lassiter offers a fresh and accessible approach to anthropology for both the academic and the non-specialist. His evangelical message about the relevance of anthropology is timely and engaging. Moving beyond the popular stereotypes of Indiana-Jones-ish anthropologists documenting fertility dances among remote tribes, Lassiter illustrates the varied and valuable applications of the anthropological perspective for real world problems on the local, regional and global scale. (Previous Edition Praise)
— Celeste Ray, Sewanee: The University of the South
The writing is lively, the illustrations and examples are engaging and relevant. I would absolutely recommend it to colleagues. (Previous Edition Praise)
— Colleen E. Boyd, Ball State University
I was looking for a relatively small-sized text, so that other readings could be assigned; one that is not organized by 'band, tribe, chiefdom, state' and 'hunters and gatherers, horticulturalists, etc.' but that does contain basic information about the differences these types of cultures bring with them; and a text that deals with methods and explores what it means to be an anthropologist. I found all three in Invitation to Anthropology. (Previous Edition Praise)
— Melinda Bollar Wagner, Radford University
Accessible scholarship: Without sacrificing intellectual rigor, Lassiter engages students by tying concepts to everyday life.
Student Friendly: Invitation to Anthropology 4th Edition introduces the basics in a conversational tone, and can easily be supplemented with deeper case studies.
Wide-ranging: Lassiter draws in examples from diverse research—including the !Kung San, NASCAR fans, the illegal drug trade, the Kiowa community—to explore the complex lessons that anthropology can offer.
A glossary of key terms at the end of the book serves as a handy reference for students without muddying the conversational flow of the text.
New features
Updated and expanded discussions include evolution, language, population statistics, gender identities, and belief systems.
New to the 4th Edition: "Anthropology Here and Now" sidebars cover latest trends and highlight cutting-edge research.