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This is the first full length account of the life and ideas of Mary Douglas, the British social anthropologist whose publications span the second half of the twentieth century.
Richard Fardon covers Douglas' family background, and the pervasive influence of her catholic faith on her writings before providing an analysis of two of her most influential works; Purity and Danger (1966) and Natural Symbols (1970). The final section deals with Douglas' more controversial writings in the fields of economics, consumption, religion and risk analysis in contemporary societies. Throughout, Fardon highlights the centrality of Douglas' role in the history of anthropology and the discipline's struggle to achieve relevance to contemporary, western societies.
List of contents
PART I Beginnings: 1920s–1950s 1 ‘Memories of a Catholic girlhood’: 1920s and 1930s 2 Oxford years: 1940s 3 The Africanist: 1950s PART II Synthesis: 1960s 4 Purity and Danger revisited 5 Natural Symbols defended PART III Excursions and adventures: 1970s–1990s 6 Rituals of consumption 7 Verbal weapons and environments at risk 8 Returning to religion – in the contemporary West 9 Returning to religion – in the Old Testament PART IV Conserving anthropological modernism 10 Do institutions think? 11 The secret consciousness of individuals and the consecrated society
About the author
Richard Fardon is Professor of West African Anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Summary
This is the first full length account of the life and ideas of Mary Douglas, the British social anthropologist whose publications span the second half of the twentieth century.
