World book encyclopedia in Reference Books

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<P>The Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology provides a unique guide to the ideas, arguments and history of the discipline which discusses human social and cultural life in all its diversity and difference.<br>Theory, ethnography and history are combined in over 230 substantial entries on topics as wide ranging as race, postmodernism, witchcraft and essentialism, magic and methodology.<br><br>Areas covered<br><br>* History of anthropological research, colonialism, orientalism and occidentalism, theories of culture and society<br>* Kinship, gender and family, marriage, the body<br>* Ritual and religion, language and linguistics, poetics, literacy, aesthetics, film, museums<br>* Relations with other disciplines (e.g. archaeology, sociology)<br><br>Structure and key features<br><br>Comprehensive coverage - over 230 substantial entries provide detailed information on every major idea, individual and sub-discipline of social and cultural anthropology. The entries give insights into anthropological thinkingand definitions of specific terms.<br>International and up-to-date - over 100 international contributors, all experts in their fields, write clearly yet provocatively. They provide a variety of perspectives on crucial debates in anthropology today.<br>Covers key terms, ideas and people - the Encyclopedia eliminates the need to refer to other books for specific definitions or biographies. It contains a glossary with short explanations of more than 600 key terms and ideas. A biographical appendix details the lives and work of over 250 important figures in the history of anthropology.<br><br>Unique interdisciplinary approach - this is the only encyclopedia of social and cultural anthropology to cover fully the many important areas of overlap between anthropology and related disciplines, from history and literary studies to social psychology. Such topics include semantics, evolutionary theory and the influence of social theorists such as Marx, Durkheim and Weber. No other encyclopedia takes such a broad approach.<br>Highly accessible and easy to use - alphabetically organized and with extensive cross-referencing and indexing leading readers to specific definitions and explanations. Fully annotated primary and secondary bibliographies focus on established classics as well as recent works and provide further reading signposts to aid research.</P>

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Provides comprehensive capsule profiles of every important dinosaur find from the past two centuries, in a lavishly illustrated compendium that includes coverage of dinosaur eras, habitats, and life cycles. Original.

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A comprehensive geographical reference offers detailed full-color maps and up-to-date facts and statistics for every nation of the world, all arranged alphabetically from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, with topographical maps, national flags, climate data, urban area and city maps, satellite images, an index of place names, and information on geography, economy, politics, and history. 15,000 first printing.

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<P>This rigorously compiled A-Z volume offers rich, readable coverage of the diverse forms of post-1945 Italian culture. With over 900 entries by international contributors, this volume is genuinely interdisciplinary in character, treating traditional political, economic, and legal concerns, with a particular emphasis on neglected areas of popular culture. Entries range from short definitions, histories or biographies to longer overviews covering themes, movements, institutions and personalities, from advertising to fascism, and Pirelli to Zeffirelli.</P>

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<P>There have been rapid advances in anthropological knowledge on a wide variety of fronts in recent years. This Companion provides a comprehensive survey of contemporary thinking in biological, social and cultural anthropology. In bringing these three fields together, it establishes their interconnections, and lays the foundations for an integrated perspective on the conditions of human life appropriate to the challenges of the future. In thirty-five separately authored chapters a selection of the world's leading authorities present their own visions of the state of play in their different specialisms, and chart out new directions of inquiry.<br><br>The structure of the book is such that it is divided into three parts - Humanity, Culture and Social Life. In the first part the emphasis is on human beings as members of a species, on how that species differs from others, on how it has evolved, and on how human populations have adapted to and in turn transformed their environments. The second part focuses on the origins and structure of human culture, and on the role of culture in action, perception and cognition.<br><br>The third part examines the various aspects of the relationships and processes that are carried on by persons and groups in the course of social life. Each part is preceded by a short editorial introduction and the entire work is prefaced by a general introduction outlining the scope and promise of the discipline of anthropology as a whole.<br><br>Special features include: <br><br>* a unique synthesis of the three branches of anthropology - social, cultural and biological<br>* carefully illustrated with line drawings<br>* prestigious editor leads an international team of acknowledged experts in each field<br>* useful cross-references within the text, with full bibliographical references and suggestions for further reading</P>

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A comprehensive reference examines the literary works, writers, and concepts of the ancient world, covering the beginnings to approximately 500 CE in ancient Greece and Rome to China, Egypt, Japan, India, Persia, Babylonia, the Hebrew world, and more.

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The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Japan is the essential reference to all facets of Japan past and present. Up to date, authoritative and wide ranging in scope, it covers all the general reader, student, business person, journalist, researcher, tourist or armchair traveler would want to know. A highly absorbing read, the Encyclopedia is also filled with the facts, figures and general data on Japan that make it an indispensable source of information. Learn, for example, that the safest place to be during an earthquake in Japan is in a bamboo grove; or that one of the greatest delicacies of Japanese cuisine, the fugu, is deadly poisonous in the hands of an unskilled chef. Also included are the latest statistics on Japan's dramatically aging population, a complete listing of its prime ministers, and valuable data on the powerful Japanese advertising industry.

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The fifth edition of the comprehensive film reference features more than seven thousand alphabetically organized entries on the artistic, technical, and commercial aspects of movies, including style, genres, actors and actresses, directors, producers, and motion picture studios.

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<P>This lavishly illustrated book examines theatrical developments since 1945 in more than 40 African countries. The authoritative entries on each country have been written by the leading scholars, critics and theatre practitioners working within the area discussed. Preceding the entries are specialist introductory essays on Anglophone Africa, Francophone Africa, History and Culture, Cosmology, Music, Dance, Theatre for Young Audiences and Puppetry, and general essays on African theatre written by Nobel Prize Laureate Wole Soyinka and the outstanding Congolese playwright, Sony Labou Tansi, before his untimely death in 1995.<br> <br> The countries covered are: Angola * Benin * Burkina * Faso * Burundi * Cameroon * Chad * Congo * Cote d'Ivoire * Ethiopia * Ghana * Guinea * Guinea Bissau * Kenya * Liberia * Madagascar * Mali * Mauritius * Mozambique * Namibia * Niger * Nigeria * Rwanda * Senegal * Seychelles Islands * Sierra Leone * South Africa * Tanzania * Togo * Uganda * Zaire * Zambia * Zimbabwe</P>

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Provides alphabetically arranged descriptions of the physical geography of every country of the world, with details on geographical features, climate, vegetation, human population, and natural resources.

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