In The Midst Of Life

Overview

The Tolai are among the most distinctive of Papua New Guinea's indigenous peoples. For all their success in the pursuit of modernity, the Tolai remain traditional in their attitudes toward death, the cultural elaboration of which colors almost every aspect of their existence.

In his new book, A. L. Epstein develops an emotional profile of the Tolai, contending that societies are distinguished as much by the shape of their emotional life as ...

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Overview

The Tolai are among the most distinctive of Papua New Guinea's indigenous peoples. For all their success in the pursuit of modernity, the Tolai remain traditional in their attitudes toward death, the cultural elaboration of which colors almost every aspect of their existence.

In his new book, A. L. Epstein develops an emotional profile of the Tolai, contending that societies are distinguished as much by the shape of their emotional life as they are by their social arrangements and cultural styles. Epstein describes a wide range of mourning ceremonies and other more and less public occasions. By investigating not only the words that stand for emotions but also the way affect enters into and informs people's conduct, he charts a new course for ethnography that seeks to integrate the study of the emotions into anthropological analysis.

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Product Details

Meet the Author

A. L. Epstein is Professor Emeritus of Social Anthropology at the University of Sussex.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
1 Exploring Affect: Some Preliminary Issues 1
2 The Tolai: Habitat, History, Society 29
3 The Language of the Emotions 53
4 Work, Ambition, and Envy 80
5 Of Kin, Love, and Anger 116
6 Tambu, Grief, and the Meaning of Death 150
7 Affect and the Self 198
8 Epilogue: The Anthropologist as Onion-Peeler 248
Notes 281
Bibliography 299
Index 311
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