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Against Exoticism: Toward the Transcendence of Relativism and Universalism in Anthropology

Kapferer, Bruce and Theodossopoulos, Dimitrios, eds. (2016) Against Exoticism: Toward the Transcendence of Relativism and Universalism in Anthropology. Berghahn Books, Oxford, United Kingdom, 154 pp. ISBN 978-1-78533-370-5. E-ISBN 978-1-78533-371-2. (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:52391)

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Language: English

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Abstract

Anthropology begins in the encounter with the ‘exotic’: what stands outside of—and challenges—conventional or established understandings. This volume confronts the distortions of orientalism, ethnocentrism, and romantic nostalgia to expose exoticism, defined as the construction of false and unsubstantiated difference. Its aim is to re-found the importance of the exotic in the development of anthropological knowledge and to overcome methodological dualisms and dualistic approaches. Chapters look at the risk of exoticism in the perspectivist approach, the significant exotic corrective of Levi-Strauss vis-à-vis an imperializing Eurocentrism, our nostalgic relationship with the ethnographic record, and the attempts of local communities to readapt previous exoticized referents, renegotiate their identity, and ‘counter-exoticize.’ This volume demonstrates a range of approaches that will be valuable for researchers and students seeking to effectively establish comparative methodological frameworks that transcend issues of relativism and universalism.

Item Type: Edited book
Uncontrolled keywords: The exotic, exoticism, orientalist, anthropological theory
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation
Depositing User: Dimitrios Theodossopoulos
Date Deposited: 24 Nov 2015 18:18 UTC
Last Modified: 17 Aug 2022 12:20 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/52391 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Theodossopoulos, Dimitrios.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8453-3450
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