The Anthropology of Fear: Cultures Beyond Emotions

"Avoiding the lure of a psychological conceptualisation of fear, all chapters in this volume substantiate the criticism towards specific postmodern trends in anthropology that would rather focus on the individual dimension of fear, thus missing its social aspects. Fear cannot and must not be reduced to an emotional phenomenon, but must rather be regarded by anthropologists as the prime mover of rational management in dangerous or risky situations. The various forms of fear appear to be shaped by societies." -- Christian Giordano, U. of Fribourg (Series: Fribourg Studies in Social Anthropology / Freiburger Sozialanthropologische Studien / Etudes d'Anthropologie Sociale de l'Universite de Fribourg - Vol. 41)