Knowledges: Culture, Counterculture, Subculture

by Peter Worsley

Overview

Called "a classic study" by Booklist, this engaging inquiry into the nature of knowledge shows that "Western science" and "primitive beliefs" may not be so far apart as they seem. Renowned anthropologist and sociologist Peter Worsley begins Knowledges with his ongoing investigation of Australian aboriginal approaches to science and the natural world, and goes on to shatter conventional distinctions between science and culture, knowledge and belief. On the way, Worsley treats us to a lively and accessible examination of pre-European navigation of the Pacific, Western medicine, sub- and countercultures, nationalism, religion, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the iconology of Disneyland.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781565845558
Publisher:	New Press, The
Publication date:	09/01/1999
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.90(h) x (d)

About the Author

Twice president of the British Sociological Association, Peter Worsley is the author of the classic study of "cargo cults" in the Pacific, The Trumpet Shall Sound. His book The Third World introduced that term into everyday use. He is also the author of the bestselling textbook Introducing Sociology. He lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

Noted sociologist Worsley (The Third World, 1973) began this book as a study of the scientific knowledge of an Australian aboriginal tribe. Five years later he delivers a sprawling examination of such diverse topics as pre-European navigation in the Pacific, the rise of Western biomedicine, religion in the modern state, the secularization of Christmas, and the iconology of Disneyland. In language suitable for the lay reader as well as the cultural anthropologist, Worsley uses these wide-ranging topics to argue that knowledge takes many forms and is by its nature plural. Just as aborigines, for example, employ different taxonomies to classify plants used for subsistence than they would for those used in rituals, so do Americans rely on medical science while simultaneously employing religion to answer seemingly more mysterious questions. Because of the sweeping scope of this work, it does appear less than cohesive in spots. The sections on Christmas and Disneyland are slightly tangential and offer less to Worsley's thesis; however, as informative and thought-provoking pieces, they ultimately contribute to this ambitious and challenging book. Recommended for large public libraries and academic anthropology collections.Jim Woodman, Boston Athenaeum

Library Journal

Worsley (Professor Emeritus, anthropology, U. of Manchester) argues for the plurality of knowledge systems, questioning standard definitions of culture by looking at the ways cultures are differentiated within the group or national boundaries that are thought to contain them, and the ways in which they spill out of these borders to feed into a global mass society. Some topics tackled include Australian Aboriginal, African, and Western attitudes about food, illness, place, and time. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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