Argonauts of the Western Pacific
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Product Description
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Malinowski is the founding father of social anthropology. He revolutionized the field of anthropology by introducing field work. Before anthropologists based their theories on travel describtions and missonaries writings. Malinowski argued that it is nessersary to live among the people which you study. He claimed that only by living among the "native" in a long term period it would be possible to see with the "natives" eyes. The Argonauts of the Western Pacific is written with a beautiful imagery which absorbs the reader in to lives and thoughts of the people of the Trobriand islands.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This work is included on most anthropology course reading lists, and for good reason. It's a big book - bit of a doorstop - but the information contained inside it is of a very high standard. Malinowski was first and foremost an ethnographer. His theoretical work tended to overstate the premises he worked by and made functionalism seem like a bit of a joke rather than a very rational, sensible approach, and reading his ethnography, you wonder why "functionalist" used to seem like a pejorative (and to some people still does).
This work really was a turning point in ethnography. Not only did Malinowski revolutionise ethnography by (bit of a cliche these days) taking it "off the veranda", he also engaged in the odd bit of what we now call visual ethnography, by taking pictures of activities and objects with an admittedly primitive camera. These photographs can be found throughout the book, and this edition has retained the ordering of the images as well as the original type.
The brilliance of Malinowski's ethnography can be seen in the fact that some of his suppositions were debunked using Malinowski's own ethnography by other anthropologists - notably, Marcel Mauss (The Gift) and Levi-Strauss (in The Jealous Potter and others). This work thus represents something very special in these days when many anthropology departments have lamentably been taken over by relativists and po-mos: anthropology as science.
I therefore cannot recommend it highly enough. It's also a fantastic read, although you'll know, if you've read any of Malinowski's other work, that he has a tendency to repeat himself when it comes to important information. Great for remembering things, but at times, a little boring. Unlike the subject matter, and quite unlike the man himself.
This work really was a turning point in ethnography. Not only did Malinowski revolutionise ethnography by (bit of a cliche these days) taking it "off the veranda", he also engaged in the odd bit of what we now call visual ethnography, by taking pictures of activities and objects with an admittedly primitive camera. These photographs can be found throughout the book, and this edition has retained the ordering of the images as well as the original type.
The brilliance of Malinowski's ethnography can be seen in the fact that some of his suppositions were debunked using Malinowski's own ethnography by other anthropologists - notably, Marcel Mauss (The Gift) and Levi-Strauss (in The Jealous Potter and others). This work thus represents something very special in these days when many anthropology departments have lamentably been taken over by relativists and po-mos: anthropology as science.
I therefore cannot recommend it highly enough. It's also a fantastic read, although you'll know, if you've read any of Malinowski's other work, that he has a tendency to repeat himself when it comes to important information. Great for remembering things, but at times, a little boring. Unlike the subject matter, and quite unlike the man himself.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Malinowski brought Anthropology on in leaps and bounds by living with the 'natives' thereby being the projenitor of the
ideology of participant observation as opposed to passive observation. A very informative learning curve for any would be
anthropologist. As the founding father of anthropology Malinowski lead the way to understanding anthropology from
the 'inside out' rather than from the 'outside in'. Found the book invaluable as an insight to historical approaches
to anthropological study in my undergraduate days as a student of anthropology.
ideology of participant observation as opposed to passive observation. A very informative learning curve for any would be
anthropologist. As the founding father of anthropology Malinowski lead the way to understanding anthropology from
the 'inside out' rather than from the 'outside in'. Found the book invaluable as an insight to historical approaches
to anthropological study in my undergraduate days as a student of anthropology.
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