The Study of Culture At a Distance [Hardcover]

The United States on the eve of the Second World War was still a society largely isolated from the world. Facing enemies with unfamiliar cultural traditions, the U.S. government turned to anthropologists for insight. The result was a research effort that continued long after the war, aimed, in the words of Margaret Mead, at analyzing the cultural regularities in the characters of individuals who are members of societies that are inaccessible to direct observation. In 1953, Margaret Mead and Rhoda M?traux producedThe Study of Culture at a Distance, a compilation of research from this period. This remarkable work, long unavailable, presents a rich and complex methodology for the study of cultures through literature, film, informant interviews, focus groups, and projective techniques. The book also provides fascinating insights into such diverse cultures as China, Thailand, Italy, Syria, France, Germany, Russia, Romania, and Great Britain, and includes some highly original analysis such as that of the Soviet style of chess, a study of Jean Cocteau's classic filmLa Belle et la B?te, and the cultural interpretations of Rorschach tests administered to Chinese subjects.

Preface

Introduction

PART I: INTRODUCTION

The Study of Culture at a Distance
Margaret Mead

Chapter 1.The Purpose and Scope of This Manual
Chapter 2.The Needed Skills and Their Place in Cultural Analysis

Chapter 3. Theory and Practice

• Theory and Methods Derived from Anthropology
• Theory and Methods Derived from Other Disciplines

Chapter 4. Anthropological Models for the Study of Culture at a Distance

• The Single Informant
• The Study of Living Communities

PART II: NATIONAL CHARACTER

National Character: Theory and Practice