Don Brenneis

The matter of talk: Political performances in Bhatgaon

Comparative analysis demonstrates salient stylistic, contextual and content features of two genres of dispute discourse in a Fiji Indian village. Specific strategies of persuasion are examined, as well as explanations for their effectiveness in influencing the course of community conflicts.

Some Cases for Culture

This article briefly explores the underlying analogy between culture and language common in American anthropology and related fields. Certain key assumptions about culture – among them systematicity, homogeneity, sharedness, and boundedness – derive in part from this analogy. Three points are central: first, that these operating assumptions are interpretively and rhetorically powerful but can lead to particularly static models; second, that these are not necessarily inherent features of language itself, i.e., that the language end of the analogy may be misunderstood; and, third, that the use of a case approach, one tracking the making and transformation of cultural practice over time, can help us better account for the complex relationships among culture, social life, and socialization.