This vintage book comprises three famous Malinowski essays on the subject of religion. Malinowski is one of the most important and influential anthropologists of all time. He is particularly renowned for his ability to combine the reality of human experience, with the cold calculations of science. An important collection of three of his most famous essays, "Magic, Science and Religion" provides its reader with a series of concepts concerning religion, magic, science, rite and myth. This is...

"Argonauts of the Western Pacific" is a seminal ethnographic work by Bronislaw Malinowski that explores the lives and customs of the Trobriand Islanders in Papua New Guinea. Through immersive fieldwork, Malinowski provides a detailed account of the Kula ring, a complex system of exchange involving the ceremonial trading of shell necklaces and armbands among the islands. His observations reveal the intricate social structures and cultural practices of the Trobriand people, emphasizing the i...

Among the natives of Kiriwina, death is the starting point of two series of events which run almost independently of each other. Death affects the deceased individual; his soul (baloma or balom) leaves the body and goes to another world, there to lead a shadowy existence. His passing is also a matter of concern to the bereft community. Its members wail for him, mourn for him, and celebrate an endless series of feasts. These festivities consist, as a rule, in the distribution of uncooked fo...

This early work by Bronislaw Malinowski was originally published in 1926 and we are now republishing it with a brand new biography of the author. 'Myth in Primitive Psychology' deals with various forms of myth and magic in relation to human psychology.

This vintage text contains three essays by Bronislaw Malinowski on the theory of functionalism. The first essay stipulates that anthropology can be viewed in a scientific manner, and offers insights into culture, human nature, and the ideal object of study. The other essays in this collection further explore functionalism and analyse the work and influence of Sir James Frazer on the field of anthropology. This book is highly recommended for those with an interest in the development of anth...

This antiquarian book contains Bronislaw Malinowski's seminal treatise on civilisation and the notion of freedom. During World War Two, Malinowski became more and more obsessed with analysing world issues and the possible consequences of a totalitarian victory. As the war progressed, Malinowski also became preoccupied with the problems of peace and settlement, and was motivated to write this book, the final expression of his basic beliefs and conclusions regarding war, totalitarianism, and...

This antique text contains a detailed treatise on the contacting of indigenous tribes and communities on the continent of Africa. This brochure is a reprint of a series of papers that appeared during 1934, 1935 and 1936 in the journal of the African Institute, the sponsor of the field-work out of which these discussions arose. Since all the contributors write from their first-hand experience, the essays have that peculiarly attractive freshness that can only come when those faced with prob...

Malinowski: "In the writing up of his results the modern anthropologist is naturally tempted to add his wider, somewhat diffused and intangible experiences to his descriptions of definite fact; to present the details of custom, belief, and organization against the background of a general theory of primitive culture. This little book is the outcome of a field worker’s yielding to such temptation. In extenuation of this lapse —if lapse it be— I should like to urge the great need for more the...

Delve into the fascinating and thought-provoking world of anthropological and sociological discourse with Marriage, Past and Present: A Debate between Robert Briffault and Bronislaw Malinowski. This compelling work captures the intellectual clash between two of the early 20th century's most prominent scholars as they explore the evolution and significance of marriage in human societies.Robert Briffault, a noted anthropologist and sociologist, and Bronislaw Malinowski, a pioneering f...

Written by one of the most important anthropologists of the 20th-century, this is an unflinching look at Australian Aborigines and their lives. Fair warning - the way the women and young girls are treated can make for depressing and disturbing reading. Chapters include: Exposition Of The Problem And Method; Modes Of Obtaining Wives; Husband And Wife; Sexual Aspect Of Marriage; Mode Of Living; Discussion Of Kinship; Theoretical Analysis Of This Concept; Some Examples Of Kinship Ideas Sugges...

The Trobriand Islanders of the Melanesian region, as well as many other cultures in the Australian and New Guinea regions, had a belief that there was no cause and effect relationship between sexual intercourse and pregnancy. As detailed in this monograph, the Trobrianders belived that the Baloma, the spirits of the dead, would return from the afterlife and impregnate women when they bathed in the lagoon, thus reincarnating the dead ancestor. This often cited monograph by one of the founde...

"An Imperfect Time" is an epic story depicting the fate of people involved in the grim history of the twentieth century. From the pogrom in the village near Pinsk to the reality of the Third Republic, the author leads us along winding roads, reversing the narrative, changing epochs and countries. We follow the fate of several generations of the Brok family, to whom history did not spare anything, neither suffering nor betrayal, nor crime, nor ideological asphyxiation. But you can look at t...