Phenomenological Approaches in Anthropology
Robert Desjarlais, C. Jason Throop
Annual Review of Anthropology September 27, 2010 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-anthro-092010-153345 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 585 |
| Key findings | Argues that phenomenological approaches in anthropology provide significant analytic insights across diverse topics, and proposes responses to critiques by emphasizing the importance of lived experience and embodiment while acknowledging the need to address social and political dimensions. |
Abstract
This review explores the most significant dimensions and findings of phenomenological approaches in anthropology. We spell out the motives and implications inherent in such approaches, chronicle their historical dimensions and precursors, and address the ways in which they have contributed to analytic perspectives employed in anthropology. This article canvasses phenomenologically oriented research in anthropology on a number of topics, including political relations and violence; language and discourse; neurophenomenology; emotion; embodiment and bodiliness; illness and healing; pain and suffering; aging, dying, and death; sensory perception and experience; subjectivity; intersubjectivity and sociality; empathy; morality; religious experience; art, aesthetics, and creativity; narrative and storytelling; time and temporality; and senses of place. We examine, and propose salient responses to, the main critiques of phenomenological approaches in anthropology, and we also take note of some of the most pressing and generative avenues of research and thought in phenomenologically oriented anthropology.