Pursuits of happiness : well-being in anthropological perspective

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Pursuits of happiness : well-being in anthropological perspective

edited by Gordon Mathews and Carolina Izquierdo

Berghahn Books, 2010

  • : pbk

Available at  / 7 libraries

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"First paperback edition published in 2010"--T.p. verso

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Anthropology has long shied away from examining how human beings may lead happy and fulfilling lives. This book, however, shows that the ethnographic examination of well-being-defined as "the optimal state for an individual, a community, and a society"-and the comparison of well-being within and across societies is a new and important area for anthropological inquiry. Distinctly different in different places, but also reflecting our common humanity, well-being is intimately linked to the idea of happiness and its pursuits. Noted anthropological researchers have come together in this volume to examine well-being in a range of diverse ways and to investigate it in a range of settings: from the Peruvian Amazon, the Australian outback, and the Canadian north, to India, China, Indonesia, Japan, and the United States.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Anthropology, Happiness, and Well-Being Gordon Mathews and Carolina Izquierdo PART I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Chapter 1. Why Anthropology Can Ill Afford to Ignore Well-Being Neil Thin Chapter 2. Is a Measure of Cultural Well-Being Possible or Desirable? Benjamin Nick Colby PART II: WELL-BEING IN SMALL-SCALE SOCIETIES Chapter 3. Well-Being Among the Matsigenka of the Peruvian Amazon: Health, Missions, Oil, and "Progress" Carolina Izquierdo Chapter 4. Embodied Selves and Social Selves: Aboriginal Well-Being in Rural New South Wales, Australia Daniela Heil Chapter 5. The Shifting Landscape of Cree Well-Being Naomi Adelson PART III: WELL-BEING, CULTURE AND THE STATE Chapter 6. Well-Being: Lessons from India Steve Derne Chapter 7. Well-Being, Cultural Pathology, and Personal Rejuvenation in a Chinese City, 1981- 2005 William Jankowiak Chapter 8. Finding and Keeping a Purpose in Life: Well-Being and Ikigai in Japan and Elsewhere Gordon Mathews PART IV: NEW ANTHROPOLOGICAL DIRECTIONS Chapter 9. Pleasure Experienced: Well-Being and the Japanese Bath Scott Clark Chapter 10. Selfscapes of Well-Being in a Rural Indonesian Village Douglas Hollan Chapter 11. Well-Being and Sustainability of Daily Routines: Families with Children with Disabilities in the United States Thomas S. Weisner Conclusion: Towards an Anthropology of Well-Being Gordon Mathewsand Carolina Izquierdo Tables Figures Bibliography Index

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