Thomas M. Wilson

Drinking, Anthropology of

The anthropology of drinking has approached alcohol and drinking in two main ways: as aspects of social health problems, and as part of acceptable, mainstream social behavior. This article examines these approaches in three periods: 1930–60, 1960–90, and 1990 to the present. Today, anthropologists increasingly focus on alcohol and drinking as social and political processes related to culture and identity within local, national, and global contexts.