In the March 23rd issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, author Caitlin Zaloom has penned an interesting piece about the late Clifford Geertz, one of the world’s leading cultural anthropologists, and a man she calls her intellectual “grandfather.” In her article, Zaloom cites Geertz’s groundbreaking studies in books such as Peddlers and Princes and Agricultural Involution as the foundation for her own new book, Out of the Pits: Traders and Technology from Chicago to London.
Out of the Pits is a fascinating exploration of how the recent trend of online trading is effecting the culture of the marketplace. Zaloom’s article states, “even though their publication preceded today’s global economy by decades, Clifford Geertz’s works on culture and economy can still help us understand the cultural import of the online evolution in the world’s marketplace.”
Here’s a few links to the UCP website where you can find out more about the works of both of these groundbreaking figures in the field of anthropology:
Clifford Geertz by His Colleagues
Islam Observed: Religious Development in Morocco and Indonesia
The Religion of Java
Kinship in Bali
Peddlers and Princes
We also have an excerpt from Out of the Pits.