An entertaining anthropological tour through the big answers to life’s little questions.
Why do farts evoke laughter and disgust? Is the aversion to the left hand universal? Are dogs really humankind’s best friend? Why do we tip wait staff but not teachers? Can you still spot the difference between a Brit and an American by their teeth? In Silent but Deadly: The Underlying Cultural Patterns of Everyday Behaviour, Kirsten Bell, an anthropologist who has lived in five countries on four continents-and learned about cultural gaffes by constantly committing them-places our everyday behaviours under the microscope.
Boldly going where no anthropologist has gone before, no topic is too small or insignificant for Bell’s attention, whether it’s the propensity of Brits to place their washing machine in the kitchen, the disinclination of Americans to buy rounds at the pub, Australians’ well-documented obsession with toilet paper, or Canadian sensibilities around swearing. The kind of book Jared Diamond might write if he was more concerned with the meanings of bodily emissions than the collapse of civilizations, Silent but Deadly deciphers the cultural patterns that underlie our everyday quirks, foibles, and habits.
Table des matières
Preface
1. Silent but Deadly
2. Pits of Despair
3. For the Love of Toilet Paper
4. Going to the Dentist Bites
5. Laundry Location, Location, Location
6. A Slug is a Snail Without a House
7. Must Love Dogs
8. Menageries and Stock Markets
9. The Illogic of Tipping
10. Beware of Colleagues Bearing Drinks
11. You Can’t Say ‘C*nt’ in Canada
12. Cack Hands and Southpaws
13. The Magic of Numbers
Conclusion
Sources
Acknowledgements
A propos de l’auteur
Kirsten Bell is an Australian social anthropologist living in London. She received her doctorate in social anthropology from James Cook University in Australia and has worked at universities in the USA, Australia, Canada and the UK. She is currently Senior Research Fellow at Imperial College in London. To learn more about Kirsten and her work, visit her website at www.notkristenbell.com.
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