Outside France, French anthropology is conventionally seen as being dominated by grand theory produced by writers who have done little or no fieldwork themselves, and who may not even count as anthropologists in terms of the institutional structures of French academia. This applies to figures from Durkheim to Derrida, Mauss to Foucault, though there are partial exceptions, such as Lévi-Strauss and Bourdieu. It has led to a contrast being made, especially perhaps in the Anglo-Saxon world, between French theory relying on rational inference, and British empiricism based on induction and generally skeptical of theory. While there are contrasts between the two traditions, this is essentially a false view. It is this aspect of French anthropology that this collection addresses, in the belief that the neglect of many of these figures outside France is seriously distorting our view of the French tradition of anthropology overall. At the same time, the collection will provide a positive view of the French tradition of ethnography, stressing its combination of technical competence and the sympathies of its practitioners for its various ethnographic subjects.

Table of Contents:
List of illustrations List of authors discussed in this volume Preface Introduction: Ethnographic practice and theory in France Robert Parkin and Anne de Sales Chapter 1. ‘Keeping your eyes open’: Arnold van Gennep and the autonomy of the folkloristic Giordano Charuty Chapter 2. Canonical ethnography: Hanoteau and Letourneux on Kabyle communal law Peter Parkes Chapter 3. Postcards at the service of the Imaginary: Jean Rouch, shared anthropology and the ciné-trance Paul Henley Chapter 4. Eric de Dampierre and the art of fieldwork Margaret Buckner Chapter 5. What sort of anthropologist was Paul Rivet? Laura Rival Chapter 6. Alfred Métraux: empiricist and romanticist Peter Rivière Chapter 7. Roger Bastide or the 'darknesses of alterity' Stefania Capone Chapter 8. The art and craft of ethnography: Lucien Bernot, 1919–1993 Gérard Toffin Chapter 9. André-Georges Haudricourt: a thorough materialist Alban Bensa Chapter 10. Louis Dumont: from museology to structuralism via India Robert Parkin Chapter 11. Will the real Maurice Leenhardt please stand up? Four anthropologists in search of an ancestor Jeremy MacClancy Notes on Contributors Index