Extra Reading

This document consists of great books or articles on Cultural History. Some are here because there is a course covering the same material; some are just great books that you should read at some point in your career.

Once you have made it through most of the curriculum, knowing whether a book is worth your time will become easier. Or, if you are struggling in one of the courses, perhaps reading a book on the subject will help.

Anthropology and Cultural Theory

Name Author(s)
Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography James Clifford and George E. Marcus (eds.)
The Interpretation of Cultures Clifford Geertz
Argonauts of the Western Pacific Bronisław Malinowski

Postcolonial and Critical Studies

Name Author(s)
Orientalism Edward W. Said
The Wretched of the Earth Frantz Fanon
Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference Dipesh Chakrabarty

Ethnographies and Cultural Histories

Name Author(s)
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Anne Fadiman
Europe and the People Without History Eric R. Wolf