The Anthropology of Media
A Reader
Blackwell Readers in Anthropology
1. Edition January 2002
432 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
The Anthropology of Media: A Reader
* Brings together key writings in the emergent field of the
anthropology of media for the first time
* Integrates key themes in the anthropology of media by means
of editorial commentary
* Explores the theoretical issues that have arisen from
ethnographic studies of media
offers a critical overview of how mass media represents and
constructs both Western and non-Western cultures. Moving beyond
earlier anthropological preoccupation with ethnographic film and
drawing on the recent explosion of creative studies of culture and
media, this volume heralds the emergence of a new field - the
anthropology of media - and brings its key literature
together for the first time.
Timeline of Media Development x
Introduction 1
Kelly Askew
Part I Seeing/Hearing is Believing: Technology and Truth 15
Part II Representing Others 73
Part III Representing Selves 157
Part IV Active Audiences 237
Part V Power, Colonialism, Nationalism 323
Resource Bibliography 394
Index 406
anthropology of media - this comprehensive collection is a
timely resource for students and others interested in
cross-cultural research on mass communication. Destined to become a
standard text, it explores a wide range of theoretical ideas and
spotlights fascinating case studies. Highly recommended!" Harald
E. L. Prins, Society for Visual Anthropology (1999-2001)
"Provides a unique collection of classic and vanguard,
theoretical and substantive studies that demonstrates the
centrality of anthropology to contemporary media studies. By a
judicious selection of fascinating papers this volume is able to go
beyond any single study to reveal the many different ways an
anthropology sensitive to political and economic environments can
investigate the production, consumption, and consequences of media
by creators and users. As such it makes the ideal foundation for
teaching a subject that has now clearly come into its own."
Daniel Miller, University College London
Anthropology and the Center for Afroamerican and African Studiesat
the University of Michigan. She is the author of Performing the
Nation: Swahili Music and Cultural Politics in Tanzania
(2002).
Richard R. Wilk is Professor and Chair of the Department
of Anthropology at Indiana University. He is the author of several
books, including Household Ecology (1991) and Economies
and Cultures (1996), as well as over a hundred papers and
articles on topics as diverse as Maya archaeology, research ethics,
and global consumer culture.
