The Modern Anthropology of South-East Asia

This book provides an overview of the major theoretical issues and themes which have emerged from the engagement of anthropologists with South-East Asian communities.
The culturally diverse and historically complex region of South-East Asia has played a vital role in the development of the concepts and methods of anthropology. It is a little known fact that many of the senior anthropologists of the post-war period who contributed to the development of anthropological theories and methods formulated their ideas and perspectives in their encounter with South-East Asia. Furthermore, social scientists have fully appreciated the value of an anthropological approach in understanding the dynamics of change in South-East Asia. Above all, this book addresses the major theoretical issues and themes that have emerged from the engagement of such anthropologists with South-East Asian communities. It also provides a succinct historical survey and analysis of the development of our understanding of the peoples and cultures of the region. This introductory volume is the prelude to a series of teaching texts on the peoples and cultures of South-East Asia. The series gives due emphasis to the responses to development, globalisation and change of local communities in the region.