In part due to the recent Yanomami controversy which has rocked anthropologyto its very core there is renewed interest in the disciplines history andintellectua... » 

In part due to the recent Yanomami controversy which has rocked anthropologyto its very core there is renewed interest in the disciplines history andintellectual roots especially amongst anthropologists themselves. The cuttingedge of anthropological research today is a product of earlier questions andanswers previous ambitions preoccupations and adventures stretching back onehundred years or more. This book is the first comprehensive history of Americananthropology. Crucially Patterson relates the development of anthropology inthe United States to wider historical currents in society.American anthropologists over the years have worked through shifting social andeconomic conditions changes in institutional organization developing classstructures world politics and conflicts both at home and abroad. How hasanthropology been linked to colonial commercial and territorial expansion inthe States? How have the changing forms of race power ethnic identity andpolitics shaped the questions anthropologists ask both past and present?Anthropology as a discipline has always developed in a close relationship withother social sciencesbut this relationship has rarely been scrutinized. This book details andexplains the complex interplay of forces and conditions that have madeanthropology in America what it is today. Furthermore it explores howanthropologists themselves have contributed and propagated powerful images andideas about the different cultures and societies that make up our world.This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in understanding theroots and reasons behind American anthropology at the turn of the twentyfirstcentury.Intellectual historians social scientists and anyone intrigued by thegrowth and development of institutional politics and practices should read thisbook. «