The Chimera Principle: An Anthropology of Memory and Imagination Contributor(s): Severi, Carlo (Author), Lloyd, Janet (Translator), Graeber, David (Foreword by) |
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ISBN: 0990505057 ISBN-13: 9780990505051 Publisher: Hau OUR PRICE: $34.65 Product Type: Paperback Published: April 2015 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Anthropology - General - Social Science | Sociology - General |
Dewey: 301 |
Series: Hau - Malinowski Monographs |
Physical Information: 1" H x 5.9" W x 8.9" (1.10 lbs) 400 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Available in English for the first time, anthropologist Carlo Severi's The Chimera Principle breaks new theoretical ground for the study of ritual, iconographic technologies, and oral traditions among non-literate peoples. Setting himself against a tradition that has long seen the memory of people "without writing"--which relies on such ephemeral records as ornaments, body painting, and masks--as fundamentally disordered or doomed to failure, he argues strenuously that ritual actions in these societies pragmatically produce religious meaning and that they demonstrate what he calls a "chimeric" imagination. Deploying philosophical and ethnographic theory, Severi unfolds new approaches to research in the anthropology of ritual and memory, ultimately building a new theory of imagination and an original anthropology of thought. This English-language edition, beautifully translated by Janet Lloyd and complete with a foreword by David Graeber, will spark widespread debate and be heralded as an instant classic for anthropologists, historians, and philosophers. |
Contributor Bio(s): Severi, Carlo: - Carlo Severi is professor at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales and director of research at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Graeber, David: - David Graeber is professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics and the author, most recently, of The Utopia of Rules.Lloyd, Janet: - Janet Lloyd has translated more than seventy books from the French by authors such as Jean-Pierre Vernant, Marcel Detienne, and Philippe Descola. |