Up Close and Personal

"A stimulating collection of interviews....Its value is in the biographical glimpses, intellectual perspectives and methodological insights each offer into their work. The dialogical approach works well....[T]he volume illustrates the dynamic relationship between anthropological theorizing and political practice. Rather than celebrate anthropology, the book''s role is perhaps to champion iconoclasm and the unorthodox approaches that seem to characterize many anthropological careers." · David Mills, Oxford UniversityCombining rich personal accounts from twelve veteran anthropologists with reflexive analyses of the state of anthropology today, this book is a treatise on theory and method offering fresh insights into the production of anthropological knowledge, from the creation of key concepts to major paradigm shifts. Particular focus is given to how "peripheral perspectives" can help re-shape the discipline and the ways that anthropologists think about contemporary culture and society. From urban Maori communities in Aotearoa/New Zealand to the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, from Arnhem Land in Australia to the villages of Yorkshire, these accounts take us to the heart of the anthropological endeavor, decentering mainstream perspectives, and revealing the intimate relationships and processes that create anthropological knowledge.