A Companion to Psychological Anthropology - (Wiley Blackwell Companions to Anthropology) by Conerly Carole Casey & Robert B Edgerton (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

This Companion provides the first definitive overview of psychocultural anthropology: a subject that focuses on cultural, psychological, and social interrelations across cultures.

• Brings together original essays by leading scholars in the field
• Offers an in-depth exploration of the concepts and topics that have emerged through contemporary ethnographic work and the processes of global change
• Key issues range from studies of consciousness and time, emotion, cognition, dreaming, and memory, to the lingering effects of racism and ethnocentrism, violence, identity and subjectivity

From the Back Cover

The late twentieth century witnessed a rapid acceleration of globalizing processes, resulting in dramatic changes to the ways in which individuals experience emerging or dissolving cultural communities. It is therefore a critical time to highlight the work of psychocultural anthropology with its focus on cultural, psychological, and social interrelations at all levels and across cultures. A Companion to Psychological Anthropology is a groundbreaking volume that brings together leading scholars for a first definitive overview of contemporary ethnographic work and the processes of global change. The Companion is an essential resource for teachers and students, as well as scholars, policy makers, and social service.

Review Quotes

A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year

"This ambitious volume argues for the relevance and necessity for psychocultural perspectives for understanding globalization and its discontents.... I can not do justice here to the intriguing examples, case studies, and discussions of methodologies drawn from the authors' own research that make these essays grounded and engaging reading." (Anthropos, 2009)

"Absolutely without an equal among texts in the field ... this volume (is) particularly user friendly for instructors and readers." (Choice)

"What a wonderful surprise! Having edited, reviewed and contributed to many anthologies, I approached this Companion skeptically ... But the uniformly high quality of the writing soon won me over ... This volume achieves its goals of introducing new readers to psychological anthropology and of contributing to 'its growing vigor'." (Ethos: Journal of the Society for Psychological Anthropology)

"Any publication which draws the attention of psychologists to the existence of other cultures is extremely welcome ... This book can be recommended for its broad coverage and its range of interesting ideas. All university libraries catering for courses in psychology or in any sociological field should consider acquiring a copy." (Reference Reviews)

About the Author

Conerly Casey is Assistant Professor in the anthropology and psychology programs at the American University of Kuwait. Based on research with Muslim Hausa youths in northern Nigeria, she has published several articles and book chapters about the politics of identity and citizenship, media and mediated emotion, and violence, including 'Suffering and the Identification of Enemies in Northern Nigeria' in PoLAR (1998) and 'Mediated Hostility: Media, "Affective Citizenships" and Genocide in Northern Nigeria' in Genocide, Truth and Representation: Anthropological Approaches (2007), co-edited by Alexander Laban Hinton and Kevin O'Neill.

Robert B. Edgerton is a University Scholar and Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a past president of the Society for Psychological Anthropology and has published a number of books in the field, including Rules, Exceptions, and Social Order (1985), Sick Societies (1992), and Warrior Women (2000).