num_pages: 328
description: This creatively written introductory work is full of insights about how humanity’s defining adaptation has evolved and functions. What makes van der Elst’s approach uniquely engaging is his focus on the implications of technology, the ways humans organize themselves, and value assumptions for individuals’ life chances and choices. He confronts readers with the need to question their enculturated biases, instills appreciation of the origins of culture in biology and language, and explains such topics as the varieties of family and marriage types and the rise of inequality. Extending the thrust of the popular first edition, this totally revised second edition 1) highlighted, entertaining vignettes that serve as germane examples; 2) an expanded treatment of language; 3) end-of-chapter questions for reflection and discussion; and 4) a new chapter that demystifies kinship nomenclature. (Not-for-sale instructor resource material available to college and university faculty only; contact the publisher directly.)
language: English
title: Culture as Given, Culture as Choice, 2nd Edition
titlecomplete: Culture as Given, Culture as Choice, 2nd Edition
ratings_count: 27
publisher: Waveland Press