Reclaiming a Scientific Anthropology

by Lawrence A. Kuznar

This second edition of Reclaiming a Scientific Anthropology arrives at just the right time, as new advances in science increasingly affect anthropologists of all stripes. Lawrence Kuznar begins by reviewing the basic issues of scientific epistemology in anthropology as they have taken shape over the life of the discipline. He then describes postmodern and other critiques of both science and scientific anthropology, and he concludes with stringent analyses of these debates. This new edition brings this important text firmly into the 21st century; it not only updates the scholarly debates but it describes new research techniques―such as computer modeling systems―that could not have been imagined just a decade ago. In a field that has become increasingly divided over basic methods of reasearch and interpretation, Kuznar makes a powerful argument that anthropology should return to its roots in empirical science.

Genres: Anthropology, Nonfiction

268 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

Reviews

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved much of the critique of postmodern anthropology in this book as well as the discussion of the philosophy of science, its limitations, and how it gets characterized by its critics. However, the examples offered for what scientific anthropology can be needed to be more thoroughly explained for non-intimates, such as myself.

[Jason Barnhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lawrence Kuznar is one of my most admired mentors. I'll openly admit studying under him shaped my view of the world. I'm not sure I can give an unbiased review but perhaps that's a god review in an of itself.

Possibly hard to read for someone who doesn't have a lot of backgournd knowledge on the subject.