Read more
This work discusses the problem of defining race, the subjective view of racial types, heredity versus environment, alleged physiological & mental differences between races, the significance of intelligence tests, the importance of one's cultural experience, & open versus closed societies.
List of contents
1. What Is Anthropology? 2. The Problem of Race 3. The Interrelation of Races 4. Nationalism 5. Eugenics 6. Criminology 7. Stability of Culture 8. Education 9. Modern Civilisation and Primitive Culture; References
Summary
Anthropology and Modern Life, first published in 1929, addresses itself to an immensely broad field with clarity, introducing anthropology as a unique and coherent discipline, and demonstrating its importance in the understanding of socio-cultural change throughout history.
The author covers varied and diverse areas of study: ethnicity, including a lengthy discussion of the concepts of ‘race’ and ‘nationality’; criminology, and the importance of hereditary and environmental factors in producing criminals; education, and the associated issues of gender, class, and what would now be called ‘brainwashing’; and also the comparison between ‘modern’ and ‘primitive’ cultures, taking note of the development of socio-political institutions such as marriage and property.
