Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge (Paperback)

I use this book in my cultural anthropology courses in part because it does what is expected: cover the major divisions of what an introductory class should expose students. However, the plus to me is that the last couple of chapters cover culture contact and change based on a dominant culture coming in contact with smaller groups and also covers "globalization" which is directly relevant to the lives of my students. So at the end of our term we can switch a bit from abstract academic discussions to issues happening the in the world today. We examine concepts like "modernization" and whether the western dominant perspective that this is always good (for everyone) is true and we look at global issues that affect our species, nation, security, and subsistence from a diverse perspective. Adding Annual Editions brings the text to life, as well.