Critics against Culture: Anthropological Observers of Mass Society

by Richard Handler

Critics against Anthropological Observers of Mass Society —a collection of essays on the history of anthropology focused on Benedict, Boas, Sapir, and modernist thought by one of American anthropology’s leading scholars—explores the roots of anthropology’s early involvement with the study of American society. The essays making up this volume, focused on the critique of mass society and the history of the culture concept, examine Boasian anthropologists as critics of mass society. The book also includes two new, unpublished one on Alexis de Tocqueville and Margaret Mead, the other on Jules Henry and Richard Hoggart. Handler offers a striking analysis of Boasian cultural criticism and the intersection between anthropology, American studies, and cultural studies.

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Completelybanned · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is worth reading for those concerned with the role of anthropology in the world today. Should we be writing op-eds like crazy? How do we approach our students, especially the vast majority who will not become academic anthropologists? Handler's answer is laid out in his reading of several scholars' work aimed at mass society, mostly in the U.S. Handler does not take the expected "applied" or even fully "historical" approach to the subject that some might expect. That is not a fault of the book, just don't read this expecting something more elaborate.