The Cambridge Companion to Lévi-Strauss

Claude Lèvi-Strauss is one of the major thinkers of the modern age. Regarded as a crucial figure in the development of structuralism, his writings are studied across a wide range of disciplines, including anthropology, philosophy and literary studies. The Cambridge Companion to Lèvi-Strauss presents a major reassessment of his work and influence. The fifteen specially-commissioned essays in this volume engage with the controversies that have surrounded his ideas, and they probe the concealed influences and clichès that have obscured a true understanding of his work. The contributors are experts drawn from a number of fields, demonstrating the durability and importance of Lèvi-Strauss's work in the academy. Written for students and researchers alike, these incisive, jargon-free essays will be essential reading for anybody who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of this important thinker.

Introduction Boris Wiseman; Part I. Society and Culture: 1. Levi-Strauss and the question of humanism Denis Kambouchner; 2. Levi-Strauss and history Michael E. Harkin; 3. Structure and exchange Abraham Rosman and Paula G. Rubel; 4. The future of the structural theory of kinship Marcela Coelho de Souza; Part II. Myth and Mind: 5. The two natures of Levi-Strauss Philippe Descola; 6. On anthropological knowledge Claude Imbert; 7. The limits of classification: Claude Levi-Strauss and Mary Douglas Frederic Keck; 8. The local and the universal Eric Schwimmer; 9. Levi-Strauss and the question of symbolism Marcel Henaff; 10. Claude Levi-Strauss's theoretical and actual approaches to myth Wendy Doniger; Part III. Language and Alterity: 11. Of The Story of Lynx: Levi-Strauss and alterity Peter Gow; 12. Before Babel: language and languages in Levi-Strauss Christopher Johnson; Part IV. Literature and Aesthetics: 13. Structuralism, poetry, music: Levi-Strauss between Mallarm_ and Wagner Jeffrey Mehlman; 14. Morphology and structural aesthetics: from Goethe to Levi-Strauss Jean Petitot; 15. Structure and sensation Boris Wiseman.