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responses to the hermeneutics question,
Amanda Katherin Lambert (LAMBERT@UTKVX.UTK.EDU)
Wed, 14 Dec 1994 13:54:49 -0500
For all those interested, these are the responses I received to the
heremeneutics question. thanks again to all who helped! katherine
Try reaing MATERIAL CULTURE (Christopher Tilley, ed. Basil Blackwell, 1990).
The second section of the book is entitled "Hermeneutics" and focuses on
the work of Geertz and Ricour. There is peripheral discussion of
archaeology; more on material culture in general. Also try Ian Hodder's
READING THE PAST (Cambridge University Press, 1988). As you can see,
Hermeneutics as a form of interpretation on Americanist archaeology is not
prevalent; most of the writing on the subject is coming from Europe. Of
course, hermeneutics as a theory and practice developed in Europe and you
would probably do just as well to look at the work of Hans George Gadamer,
the German phenomenologist most associated with modern hermeneutics. Good
Luck! Carole Nash, Dept. of Soc./Anth, James Madison University,
Harrisonburg, VA 22807 about
About 15-20 years ago Bob SCHOLTE wrote quite a bit
about hermeneutics - don't recall if he followed Dilthey or not; Bob was at
UC Santa Cruz in late 60s. He's dead now - died in 70s. But, he did
publish some stuff in Triple-A in 70s. May have some references at home
for you: all from memory now (although I now he is deceased - he was a
friend and he organized a Levi-Strauss panel in New orlenas @ Triple-A in
1969 (just checked my resume for date): anyway, +/- two years, check out
AM. ANTHROPOLOGIST. You might want to check some of the philosophical
references. The most accessible is Richard Bernstein's book, BEYOND
OBJECTIVISM AND RELATIVISM: SCIENCE, HERMENUTICS, AND PRAXIS. Its a good
review of the philosophical foundations.
For definitions of hermenuetics in
arch/anthro I suggest the following sources: 1. Tilley, ed., Reading
Material Culture: Structuralism, Hermeneutics, and Post-Structuralism,
1990. (I'm patial to this volume, as I have an article on Geertz in it.)
2. recent Ian Hodder volumes--I think he has a second edition of Reading
the Past. 3. Rabinow and Sullivan, eds., Interpretive Social Science;
check both the fist (1979) and the second (1988) volumes. See especially
the first volume, and a wonderful article by the philosopher Charles
Taylor. "Herme
Hermeneutics as I know the term (and avoid its use) is one of
those fancy-dancey words would-be ministerial types and former theology
students toss about to mean "interpretation" of sacred text. Sometimes they
mean the shift of meaning that occurs with multiple translations and
interpretations cross-culturally and over time. They tend to use
"hermeneutically" almost as a synonym for "exegesis," and and certainly
they usually occur in the same sentence.
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