For courses in American Arts/Aesthetics; Popular Culture; Anthropology of Art; and Survey Anthropology.
- Written in a clear, lively style, this text approaches its subject using the traditional methods of cultural anthropology—
- in-depth interviews with “native” informants, examination of “native” texts, and analysis of “native” rites of passage. In this unique case, however, the native consultants are Americans and the focus is the arts that they produce and enjoy. True to anthropology's hallmark relativism, the author explores not only the fine arts but also the popular arts, giving as much attention and analysis to wedding cakes, rock and roll, and automobiles as to gallery paintings, classical music, and formal literature.