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The “Xhosa” In Town, Revisited Urban Social Anthropology: A Failure of Method and Theory
Author(s) -
MAGUBANE B.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1973.75.5.02a00310
Subject(s) - xhosa , colonialism , subject matter , sociology , anthropology , politics , applied anthropology , urban anthropology , subject (documents) , community studies , history , political science , urban planning , archaeology , urban density , linguistics , law , philosophy , ecology , computer science , pedagogy , biology , library science , curriculum
The weaknesses of urban anthropology in South Africa are discussed from a methodological, analytical, and political point of view. The article asserts that colonial policy demands on urban anthropology placed limits on the choice of subject matter and concepts. This is illustrated from a three volume work, The Xhosa in Town , done in South Africa under the direction of Philip Mayer, the senior author.