F Barth
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 25024 |
|---|---|
| NOME | F Barth |
| PRENOMES | F |
| SOBRENOME | Barth |
| ASSINATURA | BARTH F |
| AFILIAÇÕES | University of Bergen |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9499-2762 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 68 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 1066 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 68 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 1950 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2025 |
| ÍNDICE H | 14 |
Features of Person and Society in Swat
This chapter, originally published in 1966, examines the concept of the 'person' as a social category in Swat, Pakistan. Barth argues against the prevailing anthropological notion of a 'corporate' person, where individuals are subsumed by their lineage or group. Instead, he emphasizes the individual's agency and strategic choices within the Swat Pathans' social structure. He analyzes how individuals manipulate their ascribed statuses and utilize …
Transitions, Eating Disorders, and Changing Selves
This article explores the complex interplay between life transitions, eating disorders, and the evolving sense of self. It posits that significant life changes can disrupt established identities and self-concepts, potentially triggering or exacerbating eating disorder symptoms. The psychodynamics of identity formation, self-esteem regulation, and the impact of external stressors are examined within the context of eating disorders. The article arg…
Conclusion
The Middle East is the homeland of states and empires; it has known centralized political systems far longer than any other region of the world. This chapter analysis the political system in one land of freedom and rebellion. In Swat the groups which constitute the elementary corporate units in the political system are all based on the principle of individual captaincy. There is thus a single leader for each group; and the sources of his authorit…
Relations of Inequality and Authority
The main groups in Swat which are characterized by this kind of internal structure are: productive units, based on economic contracts; groups based on house tenancy contracts, and having certain administrative functions and serving as labour gangs; recreational groups, based on men’s house membership; and religious groups, based on relations of tutelage to a Saint. The units exchanged in the economic system are not goods but services; and the eco…
History and Organization of Swat State
This chapter outlines how Swat State was formed within the pre-existing political framework, and how its organization in part uses that framework. The tribes of Swat finally combined in a confederacy against the Nawab of Dir, but elected as their head Sayyid Abdul Jab bar Shah, grandson of the former leader Akbar Shah. However, the Badshah and the Sandakei Mullah, who was active in Swat at the time, united as holy leaders and denounced Abdul Jabb…
Land Tenure and Political Relations within Local Communities
The major principles of organization have now been described. They derive variously from kinship (caste, marriage, descent groups), economic life (economic contracts, house tenancy), recreation (men’s houses), ritual (life crisis associations), and religion (the followings of Saints); but they combine in a single complex network of social relations covering the Swat valley, and connecting it with the outside world. Every unit of land is thought o…
Neighbourhood, Marriage and Affinity
This chapter concerns another set of relations-those which are given at the outset of an individual’s career, but may be changed by his own actions. At birth each individual finds himself placed in a network of established relationships between neighbours and kinsfolk. But as he participates in community life, he can by his own actions affect the alignment of persons; his friendships affect the inter-relations of neighbours, his marriage the kins…
Authority and Following of Chiefs
Pathans, when discussing political events or contemplating political action, are naturally aware of the existence of definite alignments of people who can be mobilized as corporate units in the event of conflicts. There are fundamentally two kinds of political leaders among Pathans, which the author have called respectively chiefs and Saints. Chiefs may hold several different titles, but by far the most common is Khan . This title may be used as …
Authority and Following of Saints
This chapter considers Saints in a wider setting, so as to understand the sources of their considerable political authority and influence. This description is complicated by the great variation in the kinds of community in which the status category of Saint is found, and the consequent variation in the social role of Saints. Most Saints own some land, and some are very prominent landowners. Title to land places the titleholder among the group of …
General Ecology and Ethnology of Swat
The Pashto-speaking people of the Swat valley belong to a group loosely called Yusufzai Pathans or Afghans. This category includes all the descendants of a common distant ancestor, Yusuf, and those persons who are politically dependent on them. The Pathan population supports itself by the intensive cultivation of grain, which is highly developed. This is supplemented by some cattle breeding, particularly for dairy products and manure. Agricultura…
Alliances and Political Blocs
The striking feature of the political organization of Swat is the emphasis on free choice and contract which is fundamental to the organization on lower levels, and also characterizes the wider political alignments. A group consisting of a leader and his following is politically corporate in the sense that it acts as a unit for political purposes. This chapter describes the political organization that develops from the activity of these groups wi…
Underlying Frameworks of Organization
The political choices of Swat Pathans are not made in a vacuum—there are several frameworks of organization which serve to order the population into categories and groups, and which to some extent determine their political choices. The regions are subdivided into local areas, in everyday usage somewhat loosely delimited, with names derived from their dominant physical characteristic, from a dominant village, or most frequently from a hyphenation …
Political Leadership Among Swat Pathans
Originally published in 1956, this anthropological study examines the political system of the Swat Pathans in Northern Pakistan. Fredrik Barth analyzes the dynamics of leadership and power within the context of Pathan social organization, focusing on the role of 'saintly lineages' and the competition for political influence. He argues that political leadership among the Swat Pathans is not based on fixed hierarchical structures but rather on flui…
Cosmologies in the Making
Economy, agency and ordinary lives
Au vu consequences desastreuses qu'ont sur la vie de larges populations reparties sur l'ensemble du globe les processus de globalisation du marche et des 'ajustements structurels' le moment est particulierement choisi pour que les anthropologues dirigent leur attention sur les rapports qu'entretiennent la 'culture' et 'l'economie'. Mais cet effort met au defi notre analyse de la pensee operatoire et nos capacites a produire des modeles qui sachen…
Overview
My main efforts in anthropology have sought to unite ethnographic and theoretical work by using empirical findings as provocations to critique received theory and raise unasked questions. I have used generative modeling to identify the empirical processes that, in their aggregate, shape social and cultural forms. Much of my time has been spent in ethnographic field studies in the Middle East, New Guinea, Indonesia, and the Himalayas, as well as N…
One Discipline, Four Ways
One Discipline, Four Ways offers a unique comparative perspective on the history and current state of anthropology. Four prominent anthropologists-Fredrik Barth, Andre Gingrich, Robert Parkin, and Sydel Silverman-present their views on the discipline as it has developed in their respective intellectual traditions: British, German, French, and American. Each author traces the historical development of anthropology in their country, highlighting th…
Towards greater naturalism in conceptualizing societies
The distinction now generally drawn in social anthropology between the connected concepts of ‘society’ and ‘culture’ was most clearly articulated by Firth:If...society is taken to be an organized set of individuals with a given way of life, culture is that way of life. If society is taken to be an aggregate of social relations, then culture is the content of those relations. Society emphasizes the human component, the aggregate of people and the …
Bokomtaler
An Anthropology of Knowledge
Whereas previous Sidney Mintz lectures have celebrated Mintzs work on inequality, racism, and ethnicity, I have chosen to speak to the broadest scope of his research and teaching in anthropology. A comparative perspective on human knowledge allows us to unravel a number of aspects of the cultural worlds which people construct. I argue that knowledge always has three faces: a substantive corpus of assertions, a range of media of representation, an…
When
For decades now culture has been a topic anthropologists argue about: WHAT it does or does not mean, IF it should or should not constitute a central concept of the discipline. This essay steps outside these arguments to rephrase the issue and our approach to it. It explores WHEN it makes sense to use the cultural concept: Should we proceed inductively or deductively in constructing connections between the concept and our data? And instead of asse…
L'identité pathane et sa préservation
Texte original : « Pathan Identity and its maintenance », dans F. Barth (dir.), Ethnic groups and boundaries. The social organization of culture difference, Bergen-Oslo/Londres, Universitets Forgelet/George Allen & Unwin, 1969, p. 117-134. Les Pathans (Pachtouns, Pakhtouns, Afghans) constituent un groupe ethnique important, dote d'une haute conscience de soi ; il occupe des regions voisines de l'Afghanistan et du Pakistan occidental ; il est gene…
Reflections on Theory and Practice in Cultural Anthropology
Comparative methodologies in the analysis of anthropological data
Though anthropology is almost invariably characterized in textbooks as a comparative discipline, it is striking how unsympathetic social and cultural anthropologists of different theoretical persuasions are to each others' formal comparative operations, and how little agreement there has been on what might constitute "the comparative method" in anthropology. Yet the explicit discussions and critiques of comparisons that we see within anthropology…
Comparing Lives
The construction of quality of life indicators seeks to transform a fundamentally subjective and experiential concept - the quality of lives as lived by actual people - into an objective and globally applicable measuring instrument. The article critiques some of the assumptions that are necessary to construct such a measure, and makes a plea for the use of a more appropriate and felicitous procedure for comparing variations in the quality of life
Political Leadership Among Swat Pathans
Originally published in 1956, this anthropological study examines the political system of the Swat Pathans in Northern Pakistan. Fredrik Barth analyzes the dynamics of leadership and power within the context of Pathan social organization, focusing on the role of 'saintly lineages' and the competition for political influence. He argues that political leadership among the Swat Pathans is not based on fixed hierarchical structures but rather on flui…
An Anthropology of Knowledge
Whereas previous Sidney Mintz lectures have celebrated Mintzs work on inequality, racism, and ethnicity, I have chosen to speak to the broadest scope of his research and teaching in anthropology. A comparative perspective on human knowledge allows us to unravel a number of aspects of the cultural worlds which people construct. I argue that knowledge always has three faces: a substantive corpus of assertions, a range of media of representation, an…
Ecologic Relationships of Ethnic Groups in Swat, North Pakistan
American AnthropologistVolume 58, Issue 6 p. 1079-1089 Free Access Ecologic Relationships of Ethnic Groups in Swat, North Pakistan FREDRIK BARTH, FREDRIK BARTH Cambridge UninersitySearch for more papers by this author FREDRIK BARTH, FREDRIK BARTH Cambridge UninersitySearch for more papers by this author First published: December 1956 https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1956.58.6.02a00080Citations: 133AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack cita…
On the Study of Social Change
Traditional anthropological description in terms of pattern and custom, convenient as it is for certain purposes, results essentially in accounts that do not adequately portray change. Change is more easily handled if one looks at social behavior as allocations of time and resources. Analyses of ongoing process that the latter view makes possible seem more productive of insight into the nature of social change than has been the case with typologi…
The analysis of culture in complex societies
Field materials from North Bali are presented to question conventional anthropological conceptions of culture and common practices in its analysis. The author argues that there is a need for anthropology to reshape Us assumptions, particularly in response to recent reßexive and deconstructionist critiques. A revised set of assumptions is presented with regard to cultural meanings, sharing, positioning and function; and its fruitfulness in the ana…
The Guru and the Conjurer
This article compares the roles of the guru and the conjurer in Southeast Asia and Melanesia, exploring how they mediate transactions in knowledge and shape cultural understandings. The guru, often associated with religious or philosophical traditions, imparts knowledge through discipleship and established doctrines. In contrast, the conjurer's knowledge is more secretive and personalized, acquired through individual quests and experimentation. B…
Segmentary Opposition and the Theory of Games
THE PRESENT ESSAY relates to the extensive discussion in the anthropological literature on the role of unilineal descent groups in politics, i.e. the theory of lineage systems (cf. Fortes I953). It is, however, concerned with the analysis of a divergent case: a political system in which ramifying patrilineal descent is of prominent importance in politics, yet where larger lineage groups do not emerge as corporate units.' The case analysed is the …
Father's Brother's Daughter Marriage in Kurdistan
One Discipline, Four Ways
One Discipline, Four Ways offers a unique comparative perspective on the history and current state of anthropology. Four prominent anthropologists-Fredrik Barth, Andre Gingrich, Robert Parkin, and Sydel Silverman-present their views on the discipline as it has developed in their respective intellectual traditions: British, German, French, and American. Each author traces the historical development of anthropology in their country, highlighting th…
Other Knowledge and Other Ways of Knowing
This essay argues for the importance of recognizing the diversity of knowledge systems and ways of knowing beyond Western scientific frameworks. Barth critiques the tendency in anthropology to treat "other knowledge" as a singular, monolithic category, emphasizing instead the need to understand the specificities and complexities of different knowledge traditions. He challenges the assumption that Western science is the only valid form of knowledg…
Cosmologies in the Making
On Responsibility and Humanity
When
For decades now culture has been a topic anthropologists argue about: WHAT it does or does not mean, IF it should or should not constitute a central concept of the discipline. This essay steps outside these arguments to rephrase the issue and our approach to it. It explores WHEN it makes sense to use the cultural concept: Should we proceed inductively or deductively in constructing connections between the concept and our data? And instead of asse…
Overview
My main efforts in anthropology have sought to unite ethnographic and theoretical work by using empirical findings as provocations to critique received theory and raise unasked questions. I have used generative modeling to identify the empirical processes that, in their aggregate, shape social and cultural forms. Much of my time has been spent in ethnographic field studies in the Middle East, New Guinea, Indonesia, and the Himalayas, as well as N…
Analytical Dimensions in the Comparison of Social Organizations
The paper focuses on differences in the way social situations are defined in different cultures and societies. It develops and illustrates some dimensions for comparing social systems in this respect, viz: their inventory of statuses, the repertoires of persons, and the cultural ways in which occasions are distinguished. Some contrasting types of society are compared on these dimensions; and the problem is raised as to the epistemological charact…
The Southern Mongoloid Migration
Discusses the forces behind the Southern Mongoloid migration, in terms of population pressures, cultural innovations and natural and cultural areas. Mentions advanced technology of Mongoloids and their economic adaptation to tropical environment through wet-rice agricultural techniques
Nomads of South Persia
Ethnic Groups and Boundaries
On Two Views of the Swat Pushtun [and Comments]
Models of Social Organization
This article introduces a series of models designed to represent the underlying regularities in social forms. It argues against the prevailing tendency to treat social relations and groups as fixed entities, proposing instead a focus on the dynamic processes that generate and maintain social organization. The models presented are abstract and general, aiming to provide a framework for understanding diverse social phenomena across different cultur…
L'identité pathane et sa préservation
Texte original : « Pathan Identity and its maintenance », dans F. Barth (dir.), Ethnic groups and boundaries. The social organization of culture difference, Bergen-Oslo/Londres, Universitets Forgelet/George Allen & Unwin, 1969, p. 117-134. Les Pathans (Pachtouns, Pakhtouns, Afghans) constituent un groupe ethnique important, dote d'une haute conscience de soi ; il occupe des regions voisines de l'Afghanistan et du Pakistan occidental ; il est gene…
Reflections on Theory and Practice in Cultural Anthropology
Comparing Lives
The construction of quality of life indicators seeks to transform a fundamentally subjective and experiential concept - the quality of lives as lived by actual people - into an objective and globally applicable measuring instrument. The article critiques some of the assumptions that are necessary to construct such a measure, and makes a plea for the use of a more appropriate and felicitous procedure for comparing variations in the quality of life
The Bedouin of Cyrenaica
Cosmologies in the Making
On the relationships of early primates
Ecologic Adaptation and Cultural Change in Archaeology
The new age-dating method based on the radioactive carbon isotope C14 is now turning out absolute dates and promises to reorganize the chronological framework of American archaeology. The results demonstrate that conventional methods of determining relative and absolute age are often uncertain, and that a much more exact technique can in most cases be substituted for the type seriation of archaeology.Of course the new technique still has its shor…
The Southern Mongoloid Migration
Discusses the forces behind the Southern Mongoloid migration, in terms of population pressures, cultural innovations and natural and cultural areas. Mentions advanced technology of Mongoloids and their economic adaptation to tropical environment through wet-rice agricultural techniques
Father's Brother's Daughter Marriage in Kurdistan
Ecologic Relationships of Ethnic Groups in Swat, North Pakistan
American AnthropologistVolume 58, Issue 6 p. 1079-1089 Free Access Ecologic Relationships of Ethnic Groups in Swat, North Pakistan FREDRIK BARTH, FREDRIK BARTH Cambridge UninersitySearch for more papers by this author FREDRIK BARTH, FREDRIK BARTH Cambridge UninersitySearch for more papers by this author First published: December 1956 https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1956.58.6.02a00080Citations: 133AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack cita…
Segmentary Opposition and the Theory of Games
THE PRESENT ESSAY relates to the extensive discussion in the anthropological literature on the role of unilineal descent groups in politics, i.e. the theory of lineage systems (cf. Fortes I953). It is, however, concerned with the analysis of a divergent case: a political system in which ramifying patrilineal descent is of prominent importance in politics, yet where larger lineage groups do not emerge as corporate units.' The case analysed is the …
General and Ethnology
General
Nomads of South Persia, the Basseri Tribe of the Khamseh Confederacy
Nomads of South Persia
Nomads of South Persia
Arnold J. Toynbee, Between Oxus and Jumna
Between Oxus and Jumna
Ethnology and General
Nomads of South Persia. The Basseri of the Khamseh Confederacy
Models of Social Organization
This article introduces a series of models designed to represent the underlying regularities in social forms. It argues against the prevailing tendency to treat social relations and groups as fixed entities, proposing instead a focus on the dynamic processes that generate and maintain social organization. The models presented are abstract and general, aiming to provide a framework for understanding diverse social phenomena across different cultur…
On the Study of Social Change
Traditional anthropological description in terms of pattern and custom, convenient as it is for certain purposes, results essentially in accounts that do not adequately portray change. Change is more easily handled if one looks at social behavior as allocations of time and resources. Analyses of ongoing process that the latter view makes possible seem more productive of insight into the nature of social change than has been the case with typologi…
Ethnic Groups and Boundaries
Tribes and Intertribal Relations in the Fly Headwaters
Ethnic Groups and Boundaries
Ethnic Groups and Boundaries
The seven brief essays appearing in this collection were, with a few others, originally written for a symposium held in Bergen in 1967. They bear the marks of a well-prepared and well-managed conference, although they are perhaps not quite so unified in their theoretical character as the editor's Preface might lead one to think. Each essay is worth very close study for what it says about a particular case or group of cases; and one ought to recog…
Analytical Dimensions in the Comparison of Social Organizations
The paper focuses on differences in the way social situations are defined in different cultures and societies. It develops and illustrates some dimensions for comparing social systems in this respect, viz: their inventory of statuses, the repertoires of persons, and the cultural ways in which occasions are distinguished. Some contrasting types of society are compared on these dimensions; and the problem is raised as to the epistemological charact…
Descent and Marriage Reconsidered
A reconsideration of some of the themes from the debate on descent and filiation, so prominently shaped by Meyer Fortes over a number of years (Fortes 1953 a, 1959 a. 1969) may serve as a fitting tribute to a teacher and senior colleague. My approach in the following departs from the main trend in this debate in two respects: I give greater attention to how native concepts and social groups are shaped by interaction and experience, rather than ho…
On Responsibility and Humanity
Ritual and Knowledge among the Baktaman of New Guinea
Sociology (45 obras) · Computer Science (24 obras) · History (23 obras) · Geography (21 obras) · Anthropology (19 obras) · Philosophy (16 obras) · Political science (15 obras) · Epistemology (12 obras) · Law (12 obras) · Library science (12 obras)