ANTH 425 Power and Change

15 September 2011

 

A structural functionalist view: Read Gluckman, Max (1963) "Papers in Honor of Melville J. Herskovits: Gossip and Scandal." Current Anthropology, 4(3): 307-316. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2739613

 

- how does structural-functionalism work?

- how does Gluckman interpret gossip and scandal?

- what kinds of societies does his interpretation pertain to?

- what are the insights from this kind of analysis?

- what are the shortcomings?

    - e.g. are there more important elements about the Makah case than the role of gossip and scandal in uniting the group?

 

 

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