Distant Mirrors: America as a Foreign Culture

by Philip R. DeVita, James D. Armstrong

Anthropology has a long history of the "other," yet we can look right here at home for the strangeness we seek. We often neglect to ask the questions that reveal our own culture's underlying value and beliefs. In this volume, we bring the American culture into focus. For students to understand the full impact of ethnography, to experience cultural relativity and to gain a foundation to build informed comparisons, students need a firm grasp of their own culture--and need to use this volume. The Third Edition consists of 19 essays written by anthropologists and other scholars using an ethnographic perspective. The essays enable students to understand themselves better by focusing on their own culture and seeing it from a new perspective. This collection gives anthropology a comparative perspective that provides a reflective lens, a mirror, for understanding ourselves and the world in which we live.

Genres: Nonfiction, Anthropology, Social Science, Politics, Cultural, History

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do not get me wrong this is a text book. It is however readable and gives insight into our society. It can be skipped around as it is a series of stand alone essays. Some are enjoyable.
The most interesting is 'A Russian Teacher in America', by Andrei Toom, who points out some of the problems with the American school system and the waste of time and energy spent in school. I would like to see more teachers like him, but the system avoids this.

Well worth the read.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read several pieces and skimmed through others, going to see if I can work this title into my multiculturalism course.

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wildly entertaining look at American cultural customs as analyzed by several non-American anthropologists and sociologists. The essays do not always present as rigorous a study as I'd like - assumptions are made about the culture of the entire country based on a single midwest town, authors sometimes take more of a tone of cultural superiority than is necessary, etc. - but as a whole, it's very interesting to see what we take as "normal" behavior viewed through the lenses of "outsiders" who are trained in the study of such things.

[Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting! Well worth a read for any American-born citizen, regardless of a special interest in cultural anthropology. It's a collection of essays in no particular discernable order, and therefore good for lighter readers, who prefer to skip around. (I did not happen to skip around, myself).

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent contemporary anthropology. Should re-read.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a set of essays written by foreign anthropologists who live in America. Sometimes funny, other times insightful.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I use this anthology in a comparative ethnic studies course to get students to think about their American culture from non-American viewpoints.