Let’s talk about the profound book

Who is Brian M. Howell?

• Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Wheaton College, Illinois, USA, teaching for over 15 years.
• Born in 1969, USA.
• Holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis (2002).
• Specializes in the intersection of culture, globalization, and Christianity.
• Conducted ethnographic research in the Philippines, focusing on:
  • Religious Anthropology
  • Faith and Cultural Contexts
  • Short-Term Missions and Travel Narratives

Who is Jenell Williams Paris?

• Professor of Anthropology and Sociology at Messiah College, Grantham, Pennsylvania, USA.
• Ph.D. in Anthropology – American University, Washington, D.C.
• B.A. in Cultural Studies – Bethel University, St. Paul, Minnesota
• Certificate in Criminal Justice – Liberty University, Virginia

• Applied Anthropology
• Conflict Transformation
• Race, Gender, and Identity
• Spirituality and Culture
• Higher Education and Qualitative Research

• Anthropology Career Readiness Commission
• Compassion Prison Project
• Just Detention International

Writing Style of the Authors:

1. Clear and Accessible:
2. Written in simple, easy-to-understand language for students and non-specialists.
3. Blends Academic and Faith-Based Perspectives:
4. Offers cultural analysis with a Christian lens, portraying anthropology as a tool to understand God's creation.
5. Dialogical and Reflective:
6. Filled with questions that engage the reader like:

1. Structured Learning Approach:
2. Each chapter includes:
   • Learning goals
   • Opening questions
   • Case studies
   • Summaries
   • Discussion prompts
   • Sometimes spiritual reflections
3. Balance Between Theory and Practice:
4. Concepts like "culture," "values," and "kinship" are always tied to real-life applications—globalization, religion, education, and daily life.

Chapter Overview:

1. The Discipline of Anthropology – Explains the four subfields, with a focus on cultural anthropology, fieldwork methods, and anthropological thinking.
2. Culture – Defines culture, traces its development, and presents metaphors like “culture as conversation.”
3. Language – Explores how language shapes culture and reality, and offers Christian insight into meaning-making.
4. Social Structure and Inequality (Race & Class) – Analyzes how social divisions emerge and anthropology’s role in justice.
5. Gender and Sexuality – Defines sex, gender, and identity, with cultural examples and implications for faith and society.
6. Production and Exchange – Discusses economic systems from both formal and substantive theories, connecting them to Scripture.
7. Power and Politics – Shows how power is distributed and its impact on individuals and societies.
8. Kinship and Marriage – Examines family structures, types of marriage, and their cultural meanings.
9. Religion and Ritual – Defines religion and myth through various schools of thought, linking to Christian interpretation.
10. Globalization and Cultural Change – A newer chapter covering traditional vs. modern healthcare systems and cultural transformation.
11. Anthropological Theories – Introduces key schools like structuralism, symbolism, postmodernism, and Christian engagement with them.
12. Anthropology in Practice – Highlights real-life applications in education, missions, and everyday life from a Christian perspective.

Who Should Read This Book?

• University & College Students
• Especially in Anthropology / Sociology / Cultural Studies / Religious Studies / Media & Global Studies
• Missionaries & Field Workers
• Helps in understanding cultural practices and serving across cultures without judgment.
• Christian Readers Seeking Cultural Insight
• Explains how to live faithfully in a complex, diverse world.
• Professors & Educators
• Well-structured with discussion questions and suitable as a course textbook.

In Summary: