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From Antiquity to Ethnography: Keith Thomas, Brian Harrison and Peter Burke is the first time a collection of these interviews is being published as a book. They have been conducted by one of England's leading social anthropologists and historians, Professor Alan Macfarlane.
Filmed over a period of several years, the three conversations in this volume are part of the series Creative Lives and Works. These transcriptions form a part a larger set of interviews that cut across various disciplines, from the social sciences and the sciences to the performing and visual arts. The current volume is on three of Britain's foremost social and cultural historians.
The study of historical traditions, social mores and practices come alive in these conversations. We also learn about the painstaking nature of notetaking which the subject demands. The three conversations in this volume reflect how interconnected the disciplines of history and anthropology/ethnography are. Keith Thomas brings in his vast knowledge of historical sources combined with rich ethnography. Brian Harrison candidly describes his childhood trauma and his meticulous system of card indexing with equal ease. Peter Burke paints his canvas by combining linguist prowess with the interdisciplinary aspects of history and anthropology.
The book will be of enormous value not just to those interested in the subject of History, Culture Studies and Ethnography but also to those with an avid interest in Comparative Studies and Literature.
Please note: This title is co-published with Social Science Press, New Delhi. Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
List of contents
Introduction
PART I
Keith Thomas - In conversation with Alan Macfarlane
PART II
Brian Harrison - In conversation with Alan Macfarlane
PART III
Peter Burke - In conversation with Alan Macfarlane
About the author
Alan Macfarlane was born in Shillong, India, in 1941 and educated at the Dragon School, Sedbergh School, Oxford and London Universities where he received two Master’s degrees and two doctorates. He is the author of over forty books, including The Origins of English Individualism (1978) and Letters to Lily: On How the World Works (2005). He has worked in England, Nepal, Japan and China as both an historian and anthropologist. He was elected to the British Academy in 1986 and is now Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Cambridge and a Life Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge. Professor Macfarlane received the Huxley Memorial Medal, the highest honour of the Royal Anthropological Institute in 2012.
Summary
Creative Lives and Works is a collection of interviews conducted by one of England’s leading social anthropologists and historians, Alan Macfarlane. The current volume is on three of Britain’s foremost social and cultural historians.
