Contemporary Comparative Anthropology - The Why We Post Project

Bibliographic Data

ID2142926
AuthorsDaniel Miller (0000-0001-6554-9174, University College London, UK, corresponding author), Elisabetta Costa (0000-0002-9697-9342, University of Groningen), Laura Haapio-Kirk (0000-0001-7584-5444, University College London, UK), Nell Haynes (0000-0002-0401-2848, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA), J Sinanan (0000-0002-4423-8972, RMIT University), Tom Mcdonald (0000-0002-9606-6420, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong), Razvan Nicolescu (0000-0002-5404-3618, Imperial College London), Juliano Spyer (0000-0003-0951-5345, University College London, UK), Shriram Venkatraman (0000-0002-3984-6367, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, New Delhi, India), Xinyuan Wang (0000-0001-9506-9323, University College London, UK)
Year2019
Volume84
Issue2
Pages283-300
Publication date2019-03-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthnos (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0014-1844 • E-ISSN: 1469-588X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00141844.2017.1397044
OpenAlexW2767660810
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited46

This paper confronts the disparity between a tradition that has defined anthropology as a comparative discipline and the practices which increasingly embrace cultural relativism and the uniqueness of each fieldsite. It suggests that it is possible to resolve this dilemma, through creating a vertical structure that complements the horizontal task of comparison across fieldsites. This vertical structure is composed of different methods of dissemination which make explicit a series of steps from a baseline of popular dissemination which stresses the uniqueness of individuals, through books and journal articles with increasing degrees of generalisation and comparison. Following this structure leads us up through analysis to the creation and employment of theory. This allows us to make comparisons and generalisations without sacrificing our assertion of specificity and uniqueness. We illustrate this argument though a recent nine-field site comparison of the use and consequences of social media in a project called 'Why We Post

Argument (complex analysis · Assertion · Baseline (sea · Cultural anthropology · Dilemma · Economics · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Political science · Relativism · Sociology · Task (project management · Uniqueness · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Anthropology: Ethics, History, Culture · Computer Science · Culinary Culture and Tourism · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy