Defines ethnomathematics as the investigation of mathematical knowledge in small-scale, indigenous cultures. Puts ethnomathematics as one of five distinctive subfields within a general anthropology of mathematics, and describes interactions between cultural and epistemological features that have created these divisions. Reviews political and…

In the past decade, critical scholars such as Ronald Grimes and Talal Asad stated that there is a need to recognize the cultural and spiritual dimensions of religion, especially in an age of pluralism. While they call for an increased knowledge and application of techniques from anthropology, ethnology, and performance studies, what actually…

My paper looks at "signatures" in the form of "ciphers" (kao) and other personal marks made on population registers, town rules, and apostasy oaths in the early seventeenth century to provide some empirical evidence of very high literacy among village leaders. The essay also argues, using the same data, that literacy had…

This article focuses on the accepted identity of the countryside as a hegemonic, idyllic and stable environment. Making use of the experiences of a group of 25 15-year-old London students on a recent residential trip to the Dorset coast, it seeks to understand whether or not the countryside is seen as a "welcoming place" for inner-city…

We explore immigrant students' experience of schooling focusing on Yang Yang and his family. We present insights into immigrant Chinese educational experience in Canada and bring forward a narrative-inquiry framework for the study of student experience. We find that--contrary to some of the expectations of Chinese immigrants--family relations,…

The ethnographic research project described here is designed to motivate students by requiring them to look at and describe their daily lives with a sociological perspective. The project invites discussions of theory, ethnographic technique, and field work procedures. (NHM)

The anthropological perspective, one that makes the economic environmental-social relationships explicit, may provide the best vehicle for helping to understand problems confronting man in his technical, industrial society. (Author)

In an effort to demonstrate why good qualitative ethnography must be an equal partner in the process of building scientific knowledge, this study examined how the personal meanings assigned to the public concept of retirement affected the social actions of the elderly when they retired. The public and personal interpretations/meanings workers…

This study examines the socialization and enculturation process by which one becomes a school board member, using adult socialization and small group theory to construct a model of the role personalization process. Thirteen new school board members in seven Arizona school districts were interviewed indepth, from the announcement of their candidacy…

Using his experiences within an educational research center in the midwestern United States, the author illustrates the manner in which anthropology as a discipline exhibits synthesis between theory and practice. Focus is on the applicability of ethnography and ethnology to matters of theory and practice in educational research. A major goal of…

Eight essays in ethnolinguistics were compiled for this monograph. "Functions of Speech: An Evolutionary Approach" represents an introduction to the application of linguistic knowledge to the historical and sociological study of peoples. "Speech and Language: On the Origins and Foundations of Inequality among Speakers" expands on the theme of…

Methods employed in social science research must be true to the phenomena under investigation. Both symbolic interactionism and ethnomethodology take everyday life as their fundamental premise. Symbolic interactionism, based primarily on the work of George Herbert Mead, is the peculiar and distinctive character of interaction as it takes place…

This biliography, designed primarily for students of literature and anthropology, deals principally with traditional oral folk literature and the folk tale narrative. The materials in the bibliography, cited for their references to folk arts, crafts, customs, legends, and riddles, are listed within four categories: guides and handbooks,…

Posits the need for a study of language, equivalent to linguistic ethnography, addressed to institutions in our own society, such as education. Discusses the problems and implications of this type of language study in relation to our own cultural views on language and the role of language in education. (Author/GC)

Reviews anthropological thinking on ethnic and racial prejudice. Provides examples of discrimination and cites the major theorists who have played a part in developing anti-racist views of society. Concludes that racism has no scientific or legal justification, that racism is a crime against humanity, and that it is the enemy of peace, culture,…