Wild Thought

Wild Thought
Claude Levi-Strauss, Jeffrey Mehlman, John Leavitt
RRP:
NZ$ 59.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 47.99
Paperback
h229 x 152mm - 328pg
5 Nov 2020 US
International import eta 10-30 days
9780226413082
Out Of Stock
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Perhaps the most influential anthropologist of his generation, Claude Levi-Strauss left a profound mark on the development of twentieth-century thought, equal to that of phenomenology and existentialism. Through a fertile mixture of insights gleaned from linguistics and from sociology and ethnology, Levi-Strauss elaborated his theory of structural unity in culture and became the preeminent representative of structural anthropology. La Pensee sauvage, published in French in 1962, was his crowning achievement. Ranging over philosophies, historical periods, and human societies, it challenged the prevailing assumption of the superiority of modern Western culture and sought to explain the unity of human intellection. Unfortunately titled The Savage Mind when it first published in English in 1966, the original translation nevertheless sparked a fascination with Levi-Strauss' s work among generations of Anglophone readers. Wild Thought: A New Translation of "La Pensee sauvage" rekindles that spark with a fresh and accessible new translation. Including critical annotations for the contemporary reader, it restores the accuracy and integrity of the book that changed the course of twentieth-century thought, making it an indispensable addition to any philosophical and anthropological library.
"Wild Thought is a fantastic rendering--a timely translation for anthropology' s most timeless mind. "-- "Matthew Engelke, Columbia University" "Wild Thought marks the turning point in Levi-Strauss' s long career, opening the way for his monumental analysis of the mythology of the Americas. But above all, it is the book that put anthropology at the forefront of the human sciences, by methodically dissolving the evolutionist and colonialist presuppositions of the whole metaphysical machinery of Reason, History, and Progress. This much-needed new English translation will reintroduce Levi-Strauss' s essential work for the next generation of scholars and expert anthropologists alike. "-- "Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, National Museum of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro" "At last, a definitive and extensively annotated translation of Levi-Strauss' s prescient La Pensee sauvage. Cultivating wild forms of thought is more important today than Levi-Strauss could ever have imagined. "-- "Eduardo Kohn, McGill University" "This new translation of Levi-Strauss' s masterpiece is a revelation. To read Wild Thought is to marvel in the curiosity not only of its illustrious author but also of the countless people whose conceptual wizardry spills out onto the pages. In engaging and delightful prose, Wild Thought lets Anglophone readers at last relish the sheer joyousness and ingenuity of an unparalleled intellectual adventure. "-- "Tim Ingold, University of Aberdeen"
Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009) is the most important anthropologist of the twentieth century, a leader in structuralist thought, and one of the key figures in the history of modern thought. He held the chair of social anthropology at the College de France between 1959 and 1982 and was elected a member of the Academie francaise in 1973. His many influential works include Tristes Tropiques, Structural Anthropology, Totemism, and Wild Thought, among others. The Press has published many English editions of his works. Jeffrey Mehlman is University Professor of French at Boston University. He is the author of several books, as well as a translator of many texts by Lacan and Derrida, among others. John Leavitt is a translator and professeur titulaire of anthropology at the University of Montreal. He is the author of Linguistic Relativities and the editor of Poetry and Prophecy.

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