The Rope of Moka
The Rope of Moka

Author: Andrew Strathern

Publisher: CUP Archive

Published: 1971-07-02

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 9780521079877

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In the Mount Hagen area of central New Guinea, warfare has been replaced since the arrival of the Europeans by a vigorous development of moka, a competitive ceremonial exchange of wealth objects. The exchanges of pigs, shells and other valuables are interpreted as acting as a bond between groups, and as a means whereby individuals, notably the big-men, can maximize their status. Professor Strathern analyses the ways in which competition between big-men actually takes place, and the effects of this competition on the overall political system.

Identity and Control
Identity and Control

Author: Harrison C. White

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2012-11-21

Total Pages: 452

ISBN-13: 1400845904

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In this completely revised edition of one of the foundational texts of network sociology, Harrison White refines and enlarges his groundbreaking theory of how social structure and culture emerge from the chaos and uncertainty of social life. Incorporating new contributions from a group of young sociologists and many fascinating and novel case studies, Identity and Control is the only major book of social theory that links social structure with the lived experience of individuals, providing a rich perspective on the kinds of social formations that develop in the process. Going beyond traditional sociological dichotomies such as agency/structure, individual/society, or micro/macro, Identity and Control presents a toolbox of concepts that will be useful to a wide range of social scientists, as well as those working in public policy, management, or associational life and, beyond, to any reader who is interested in understanding the dynamics of social life.

The Kula
The Kula

Author: Jerry W. Leach

Publisher: CUP Archive

Published: 1983-05-19

Total Pages: 616

ISBN-13: 9780521232029

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Money Games
Money Games

Author: Anthony J. Pickles

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 2019-06-06

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 1789202221

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Gambling in Papua New Guinea, despite being completely absent prior to the Colonial era, has come to supersede storytelling as the region’s main nighttime activity. Money Games is an ethnographic monograph which reveals the contemporary importance of gambling in urban Papua New Guinea. Rich ethnographic detail is coupled with cross-cultural comparison which span the globe. This anthropological study of everyday economics in Melanesia thereby intersects with theories of money, value, play, informal economy, social change and leadership.

The Question of the Gift
The Question of the Gift

Author: Mark Osteen

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-09-13

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 1136481435

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The Question of the Gift is the first collection of new interdisciplinary essays on the gift. Bringing together scholars from a variety of fields, including anthropology, literary criticism, economics, philosophy and classics, it provides new paradigms and poses new questions concerning the theory and practice of gift exchange. In addressing these questions, contributors not only challenge the conventions of their fields, but also combine ideas and methods from both the social sciences and humanities to forge innovative ways of confronting this universal phenomenon.

The Gender of the Gift
The Gender of the Gift

Author: Marilyn Strathern

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 1988

Total Pages: 439

ISBN-13: 0520072022

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Marilyn Strathern argues that gender relations in Melanesia have been a particular casualty of unexamined assumptions held by Western anthropologists and feminist scholars alike. The book treats with equal seriousness, and with equal good humour, the insights of Western social science, feminist politics, and ethnographic reporting, in order to rethink the representation of Melanesian social and cultural life.

Dream Travelers
Dream Travelers

Author: R. Lohmann

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2003-11-13

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 1403982473

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In dreams, part of the self seems to wander off to undertake both mundane tasks and marvellous adventures. Anthropologists have found that many peoples take this experience of dreaming at face value, assuming that their spirits literally leave the body to travel, meet other spirits, and acquire valuable knowledge - with dramatic consequence for relationships, social organization, and religions. Dream Travellers is about Melanesian, Aboriginal Australian, and Indonesian peoples who hold this assumption. Several leading anthropologists contribute theoretically and ethnographically rich chapters, showing that attention to these peoples' dream lives deeply enhances our understanding of their cultures and waking lives as well.