Anthropologists at Home in North America: Methods and issues in the study of one’s own society

The issue of practising anthropology in one’s own society is the focus of this volume of seventeen essays, originally published in 1981. The contributions, written by US and Canadian anthropologists, deal with methods, theories and styles of doing research in North America. Rich and sometimes candid descriptions of the strategies and orienting concepts employed to order the data and the research experience made this book a contribution to both theory and method. Traditionally, the research domains of anthropologists have been societies and cultures other than their own. Research by anthropologists in their own societies received renewed emphasis partly because of a heightened awareness of social problems. This book examines how innovative scholars applied anthropology to non-traditional research questions in urban and rural society, in health and education systems, and in the field of contract anthropology.