Distant Mirrors: America as a Foreign Culture

By Philip R. DeVita and James D. Armstrong

Book Overview

Anthropology has a long history of the "other," yet we can look right here at home for the strangeness we seek. We often neglect to ask the questions that reveal our own culture's underlying value and beliefs. In this volume, we bring the American culture into focus. For students to understand the full impact of ethnography, to experience cultural relativity and to gain a foundation to build informed comparisons, students need a firm grasp of their own culture--and need to use this volume. The Third Edition consists of 19 essays written by anthropologists and other scholars using an ethnographic perspective. The essays enable students to understand themselves better by focusing on their own culture and seeing it from a new perspective. This collection gives anthropology a comparative perspective that provides a reflective lens, a mirror, for understanding ourselves and the world in which we live.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0534176763
• ISBN13: 9780534176761
• Release Date: October 1992
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 6.0" x 0.3"

Customer Reviews

Great for my work

Loved it. Highly recommended by colleagues. Timeless despite having been published much earlier.

An excellent read

This book gives a fresh look into American culture which flowed easily and proved to be a very interesting read. They were not 19 dry, difficult essays but in fact were effortless glimpses into how others see us.

Great condition, prompt delivery

Book was in great condition and the service was very promt in delivery.