Bookshelf

Alumni and faculty members who would like to have their books considered for this listing should contact Stacey Himmelberger, editor of Hamilton magazine. This list, which dates back to 2018, is updated periodically with books appearing alphabetically on the date of entry.

Mad Dogs, Englishmen, and the Errant Anthropologist: Fieldwork in Malaysia by Professor of Anthropology Emeritus Douglas Raybeck

July 1, 2021

Tags Faculty Book

(Long Grove, Ill.: Waveland Press, 2020)
The second edition of this book, originally published in 1996, recounts Raybeck’s adventures (and misadventures) while doing fieldwork in Southeast Asia. According to the publisher, the book includes “rich descriptions of Kelantanese society and culture” and “insight into the human dimension of the fieldwork undertaking.” Raybeck also addresses important considerations such as building rapport with research subjects and how to obtain reliable information. New to the second edition is an extensive epilogue. Prominent anthropologist Rosemary Firth calls it “a gem,” saying it is “beautifully written, dryly comic, and wryly self-mocking; at root it is a thoughtful and critical contribution to the aims and field techniques of our profession.”