The Anthropology of Moralities

Published by Berghahn Books 2009

The Anthropology of Moralities

Edited by: Monica Heintz

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781845459383

Overview
Contents

About this book

Anthropologists have been keenly aware of the tension between cultural relativism and absolute norms, and nowhere has this been more acute than with regards to moral values. Can we study the Other’s morality without applying our own normative judgments? How do social anthropologists keep both the distance required by science and the empathy required for the analysis of lived experiences? The plurality of moralities has not received an explicit and focused attention until recently, when accelerated globalization often resulted in the collision of different value systems. Observing, describing and assessing values cross-culturally, the authors propose various methodological approaches to the study of moralities, illustrated with rich ethnographic accounts, thus offering a valuable guide for students of anthropology, sociology and cultural studies and for professionals concerned with the empirical and cross-cultural study of values.

Author / Editor information

Monica Heintz received her PhD in Social Anthropology in Cambridge in 2002, and was appointed Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in 2003. She is currently Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, the author of ‘Be European, Recycle Yourself: Changing Work Ethic in Romania (LIT, 2006) and the editor of Weak State, Uncertain Citizenship: Moldova (Peter Lang, 2008).

Reviews

“The significance of this volume and its nine contributions results from displaying a picture that shows the polarization of the ways moralities are being studied but also conveys its theoretical potential for confronting what some sociologists call ‘Durkheim’s dilemma’, i.e. comprehending morality between its social dimension (structure; duty; obligation) and subjective dimension (agency; desirability of the good; creativity).” · Social Anthroplogy/Anthropologie Sociale

”Observing, describing and assessing values cross-culturally, the authors propose various methodological approaches to the study of moralities, illustrated with rich ethnographic accounts, thus offering a valuable guide for students of anthropology, sociology and cultural studies and for professionals concerned with the empirical and cross-cultural study of values.” · International Journal of Anthropology

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION: WHY THERE SHOULD BE AN ANTHROPOLOGY OF MORALITIES Monica Heintz Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter 2 NORM AND SPONTANEITY: ELICITATION WITH MORAL DILEMMA SCENARIOS Thomas Widlok Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	20
Chapter 3 LIFE HISTORY AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: THE MORAL CONCEPTIONS OF A MUSCOVITE MAN Jarrett Zigon Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	46
Chapter 4 MORALITY, VALUE AND RADICAL CULTURAL CHANGE Joel Robbins Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	62
Chapter 5 ACCELERATED GLOBALISATION AND THE CONFLICTS OF VALUES SEEN THROUGH THE LENS OF TRANSNATIONAL ADOPTION: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Signe Howell Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
Chapter 6 MORALITY, SELF AND POWER: THE IDEA OF THE MAHALLA IN UZBEKISTAN Johan Rasanayagam Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	102
Chapter 7 MORALISING FEMALE SEXUALITY: THE INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN MORALITY AND SEXUALITY IN RURAL VIETNAM Helle Rydstrøm Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	118
Chapter 8 NARRATIVE ETHICS: THE EXCESS OF GIVING AND MORAL AMBIGUITY IN THE LAO VESSANTARA-JATAKA Patrice Ladwig Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	136
Chapter 9 ADOPTING AN OBLIGATION: MORAL REASONING ABOUT BOUGAINVILLEAN CHILDREN’S ACCESS TO SOCIAL SERVICES IN NEW IRELAND Karen Sykes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	161
Chapter 10 BETWEEN FACTS AND NORMS: TOWARDS AN ANTHROPOLOGY OF ETHICAL PRACTICE Mark Goodale Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	182
REFERENCES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	201
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	215
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	219

Language: English
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 230
Keywords: Theory and Methodology

eBook

Published: August 1, 2009
ISBN: 9781845459383