Caste : the emergence of the South Asian social system / Morton Klass
Material type:![Text](/opac-tmpl/lib/famfamfam/BK.png)
- 8173040540
- 9789388540827
- 301.440 KLA
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CUTN Central Library Social Sciences | Non-fiction | 301.440 KLA (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 47556 |
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301.4009 RAO Social Problems In India And Social Work/ | 301.420954 AHM Family, Kinship, and marriage among Muslims in India / | 301.440 BER Corporate power and energy democracy / | 301.440 KLA Caste : the emergence of the South Asian social system / | 301.440 PIL The caste system in Tamil Nadu / | 301.440 PIL The Caste System in Tamil Nadu | 301YUI Sociology for social work : |
Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-205) and index
How and why did the caste system emerge in South Asia? Why do contemporary anthropologists and Indologists experience so much difficulty with this problem? Morton Klass addresses both of these questions in this book, and the result is an intellectual adventure story, an essay in ethnohistorical deduction and reconstruction. Klass begins by examining the assumptions underlying the older explanations of the origin of caste, tracing their roots in dubious history, ethnocentrism, and outmoded theory. Then, using contemporary anthropological writings on ecology, economy, social structure, and cultural evolution, he develops a scenario in which caste emerges as a transformation of an earlier clan structure that until now has been considered an evolutionary ‘dead end’. His radically new explanation is the result of a pioneering effort in theoretical synthesis. By employing the tools of what he calls 'eclectic anthropology' – an approach frequently attacked by proponents of more rigid and exclusionary strategies – he brings together elements from the seemingly unconnectable approaches of such major theorists as Claude Levi-Strauss, Marvin Harris, and Karl Polanyi. Caste offers a challenge to scholars to free themselves of their theoretical fetters, to open themselves to ideas from all corners of their discipline. About the Author Morton Klass was Professor of Anthropology at Barnard College, Columbia University. He conducted field work in India and among people of South Asian descent in the West Indies. Among his publications are: East Indians in Trinidad, From Field to Factory: Community Structure and Industrialization in West Bengal, and Singing with Sai Baba: The Politics of Revitalization in Trinidad.
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