Essentially Constructed : On Anti-Essentialism and Social Constructionism in Contemporary Anthropological Theory
Essentialism is an unpopular word in contemporary anthropology. One would probably be hard pressed to find an anthropologist who would adopt any traditional essentialist position. Indeed, uses of the word "essentialism" occasionally seem little different from the uses of a derogative. Anti- essentialism is the norm today and several forms of contemporary anthropology make it a basic ten