Redeeming Anthropology: A Theological Critique of a Modern Science

Redeeming Anthropology: A Theological Critique of a Modern Science
ISBN-10
0192516388
ISBN-13
9780192516381
Category
Social Science
Pages
224
Language
English
Published
2019-09-12
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Author
Khaled Furani

Description

Anthropologists have invariably engaged in their discipline as a form of redemption, whether to escape from social restriction, nourish their souls, reform their home polities, or vindicate "the natives." Redeeming Anthropology explores how in pursuit of a secular science sired by the Enlightenment, adherents to a "faith in mankind" have vacillated between rejecting and embracing theology, albeit in concealed and contradictory ways. Mining the biographical registers of the American, British, and French anthropological traditions, Khaled Furani argues that despite all efforts to the contrary, theological sediments remain in this disciplining discipline. Rather than continuing to forget, deny, and sequester it, theology can serve as a mirror for introspection, as a source of critique offering invaluable tools for revitalization: for thinking anew not only anthropology's study of others' cultures, but also its very own reason.

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