Category Archives: books

Books of 2017

Posted on January 22, 2018 by jedstevenson

The books I’ve read this year ask some big questions: How can we understand cultural diversity? How do classic works of social science come into being? What makes humans care for and do violence to each other? The issues fall … Continue reading →

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Afterlife

Posted on April 20, 2017 by jedstevenson

One of my favourite works of anthropology is a study of infancy among the Beng of Cote d’Ivoire. For people in this West African community, children are understood to come from the Afterlife. In their way of thinking, people’s spirits … Continue reading →

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A tribute to Clive Hart

Posted on September 4, 2016 by jedstevenson

What sense can we make of a life? Granted, there may not be any single meaning. But is it possible we might find something robust to hold on to? Perhaps a family of meanings? These questions grip me as I … Continue reading →

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Books of 2015

Posted on March 27, 2016 by jedstevenson

It’s taken me until Easter to get my stuff together. Here in any case are some of the books that made an impression on me this past year. A room of one’s own, by Virginia Woolf A beautifully written feminist … Continue reading →

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The year in 9 books

Posted on December 31, 2014 by jedstevenson

Some people send around a poem, a verse of scripture, or a pithy quotation at the end of the year. Not one to do things by halves, I hereby give you nine books. 1. Carbon democracy: Political power in the … Continue reading →

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About this blog

Posted on December 3, 2012 by jedstevenson

“THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE is not without its uses,” wrote Nicholas Humphrey in his book, A History of the Mind (1992: xv). (“While it would have been wrong to call this book ‘The History of the Mind’,” he went on, “I … Continue reading →

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