WHEN ANTHROPOLOGY IS AT HOME: The Different Contexts of a Single Discipline

• Published in: Annual review of anthropology Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 105 - 128
• Main Author: Peirano, Mariza G. S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Palo Alto, CA 94303-0139 Annual Reviews 01.01.1998; 4139 El Camino Way, P.O. Box 10139 Annual Reviews Inc; USA Annual Reviews, Inc
• Subjects: Anthropology; anthropology in context; Brazil; Brazilian culture; Cultural anthropology; Cultural groups; Cultural studies; difference; Differences; Ethnography; Exoticism; Indian literature; Linguistic anthropology; Methodological Problems; Methodology (Philosophical); Otherness; Political anthropology; Social Science Research; Social sciences; United States of America; Brazil; Rio de Janeiro Brazil; Chicago Illinois; United States > US; Europe; India
• ISSN: 0084-6570; 1545-4290
• DOI: 10.1146/annurev.anthro.27.1.105

For a long time anthropology was defined by the exoticism of its subject matter and by the distance, conceived as both cultural and geographic, that separated the researcher from the researched group. This situation has changed. In a few years we may assess the twentieth century as characterized by a long and complex movement, with theoretical and political implications, that replaced the ideal of the radical encounter with alterity with research at home. But "home" will, as always, incorporate many meanings, and anthropology will maintain, in its paradigmatic assumption, a socio-genetic aim toward an appreciation for, and an understanding of, difference. In some cases, difference will be the route to theoretical universalism via comparison; in others, it will surface as a denunciation of exoticism or a denial of its appeal. This review examines different moments and contexts in which an attempt at developing anthropology "at home" became an appropriate quest.