E. Paul Durrenberger Boeken

Focusing on the shrimping industry in Mississippi, the book offers an in-depth analysis of the interconnected challenges faced by shrimpers, policymakers, and environmentalists. It examines local competition, the impact of imports, and the complexities of regulation amidst rising contamination and environmental concerns. The author critiques existing folk models guiding industry decisions, advocating for data-driven policies. Through detailed interviews, it serves as a crucial resource for various stakeholders interested in the economic and environmental dynamics of the Gulf Coast and fisheries management.

This anthology offers ethnographies from classical anthropology and the more familiar settings of the agrarian Midwest, the Mexican border, the Rust Belt, and the frontiers of the recent economic meltdown. Editors E. Paul Durrenberger and Suzan Erem have compiled readings from such classics as Bronislaw Malinowski, Eric R. Wolf, Ward Goodenough, Marvin Harris, and Marshall Sahlins along with new writings by contemporaries like Alan Sandstrom, Lisa Gezon, Josiah Heyman, and Dimitra Doukas in order to provide a clear and riveting introduction to the anthropology of contemporary societies. These carefully selected articles illustrate how a variety of anthropologists approach such topics as religion, family, commerce, history, power, and wealth. An introduction to each essay helps students relate their own lives to the ethnographies and assists instructors in opening students' minds to replace prejudice with understanding, ethnocentrism with cultural relativism, and indifference with enthusiasm.