Native Peoples of North America
One difficulty with a review for this book is that it is suggested for use in an Introductory Anthropology course (by Schwarz, the book reviewer, not the author herself), as I will do next quarter, for use in an Introduction to Native Nations course. It could be used for either. I think it might be better accepted for a Native Nations course because it clearly acknowledges the limitations of comprehensive example of Native nations' cultures in a single book. It does give some attention to archaeological work which could easily be supplemented by a course teacher. The topics it does cover are comprehensive for such a class and do cover areas critical for Native Nations in a way that should intrigue students of all backgrounds. I usually have Native American students in my courses and I look forward to their reaction to this book.
As a text for an Introductory Anthropology course this would need significant supplements which to me makes it an appealing choice. I would think several ethnographies could be used with this text and a good deal of in class material as well. It could be a good choice for someone wanting to avoid a "canned" publishers package and interested in creative course development. Major cultural anthropology course topics are covered in an introductory level, however less in depth than I would like, again an issue that can be supplemented.
The book is general error free. I do not think the discussion of cross-cousins is accurate for a society with moieties or any unilineal society where a parent's sibling of the opposite sex would have children which did not belong to their lineage, clan, or moiety.. A mother's brother's children and a father's sister's children would be marriageable in that case. This is important in anthropology for understanding just how significant culture is in defining who we see as kin, and how culture determines so much about our life that is not "just human nature" (as I hear from students). There are a few typos.
Other topics are presented in an accurate manner.
The book is both up-to-date and should remain relevant for a significant period of time. Updating should be relatively easy and straightforward.
I think the clarity of the book is outstanding but I am exciting about seeing my students' reactions this Winter quarter.
The book is clearly consistent in both its terminology and framework. I am an anthropologist who using a historian's book for another course that I teach and think this work should also be clear to historians who have some knowledge of anthropological principles.
I almost did not find this book for review because it was not listed under the social sciences and think it could be listed both there and with the humanities.
I think in general the book is modular. There are some references to material presented earlier but those are explained or could be modified for use in a class using only modules.
There is a clear logic to the presentation of the material from an anthropological point of view. For use outside of anthropology the author does include a summary of the organizational principles in the introduction might be helpful as well as specific ideas for other disciplines.
No navigation problem using my Surface. That is the only platform I tried. Images were great. I do require that my students submit doi references for articles in references so that I can access them more easily. They don't often submit a .pdf so I don't know if that is possible for references.
I found no problems with the grammar although there were a few typos.
I think the material was presented with respect and cultural awareness. The book is about Native American Nation in North American and did include some references to other populations as appropriate. I have found that college students, for the most part, know far too little about the original inhabitants of North American and this volume addresses that issue well. I agree with Stebbins that knowledge of the diversity of Native nations that existed and continue to exist is a critical component of education for college students today.
I almost did not find this book for review because it was not listed under the social sciences and think it could be listed both there and with the humanities.
That would have been sad and I am glad this has been made available.