Brian Morris (anthropologist)
Encyclopedia
Brian Morris is emeritus professor of anthropology
at Goldsmiths College at the University of London
. He is a specialist on folk taxonomy
, ethnobotany
and ethnozoology
, and on religion and symbolism.
He has carried out fieldwork among South African hunter-gatherers and in Malawi
.
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
at Goldsmiths College at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. He is a specialist on folk taxonomy
Folk taxonomy
A folk taxonomy is a vernacular naming system, and can be contrasted with scientific taxonomy. Folk biological classification is the way peoples describe and organize their natural surroundings/the world around them, typically making generous use of form taxa like "shrubs", "bugs", "ducks",...
, ethnobotany
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the relationships that exist between people and plants....
and ethnozoology
Ethnozoology
Ethnozoology is the study of the past and present interrelationships between human cultures and the animals in their environment. It includes classification and naming of zoological forms, cultural knowedge and use of wild and domestic animals...
, and on religion and symbolism.
He has carried out fieldwork among South African hunter-gatherers and in Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
.
Books
- Forest Traders: a Socio-economic Study of the Hill Pandaram (1982), Humanities Press
- Anthropological Studies of Religion (1987), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-33991-X
- Anthropology Of The Self: The Individual In Cultural Perspective (1994)
- The Power Of Animals (1998), Berg
- Western Conceptions of the Individual 1991, Berg, ISBN 0-85496-698-6
- Animals and Ancestors: An Ethnography (2000), Berg
- Insects and Human Life (2004), Berg, ISBN 1-85973-847-8
- Religion And Anthropology: A Critical Introduction (2006), Cambridge University Press