Levi-Strauss on Religion

Book excerpt: Levi-Strauss, the 'father of modern anthropology', is one of the most influential thinkers of the Twentieth Century. His development of 'structuralism' - the identification of patterns of human cognition and behaviour - greatly influenced Althusser, Lacan, Foucault and Derrida. -Levi-Strauss on Religion- presents one of the only examinations of the importance of Levi-Strauss' thought and work to the study of religion. The book examines his methodology as well as his contributions to the study of kinship, totemism, and myth. The issues raised by Levi-Strauss' anthropological, political and philosophical texts are placed alongside contemporary debates in religious studies and the student is introduced to the thinkers and theories that informed his writings. This book will be invaluable to students of the anthropology and phenomenology of religion.