The Taste of Ethnographic Things

"An ingeniously constructed springboard for a criticism of anthropology."-African Studies Review

"This tantalising exploration of the anthropologist's relation to the Other provides a refreshing, optimistic and creative outlook on the perennial dilemma of ethnographic representation. Based on more than seven years' fieldwork amongst the Songhay of Niger, Stoller concocts an anecdotal mIlEe of sights, sounds and smells that flavour the natives' inner world. His exegesis is a masterly example of concision and ingenuity, narrating both mundane and extraordinary incidents that occurred during his initiation as a Songhay sorcerer-An eminently digestible recipe of Songhay socialization, peppered with provocative musings on the anthropological endeavour."-Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford

"This book is one of the most interesting and useful recent instances of anthropology at the crossroads. . . . [Stoller] fluidly articulates the central tension in the discipline today."-Man

"The author succeeds in being provocative, making claims that are contrary to conventional anthropological wisdom or have long been incorporated as basic tenants, but which are questioned afresh"-Anthropology and Humanism