A polymath anthropologist

About this book

This volume honours Ann Chownings contributions to anthropology as a whole and to the anthropology of Melanesia in particular. It reflects the scope of her interests by bringing together a wide range of scholars and topics. A biographical narrative (by Judith Huntsman) of her life to date traces her career and there is a comprehensive bibliography of her works (Kathryn Creely). The essays deal primarily with issues in Oceania, except for two addressing one of her favourite pasttimes detective fiction, as a source of innovative word formation (Laurie Bauer) and its parallels to ethnography (Claudia Gross). Three archaeology essays discuss stone artefacts in Papua New Guinea (Pamela Swadling, Jim Specht, Susan Buhner), and one essay surveys dental morphology in Oceania (Daris R. Swindler). Essays in linguistics range from surveys of Oceanic plant names (Malcolm Ross), Proto Micronesian (Ward II. Goodcnough) and Proto Oceanic (Andrew Pawley) to detailed analyses of the languages of Tokelau (Robin Hooper) and Aneityum (John Lynch). The largest section consists of essays in socio-cultural anthropology, combining themes that have been the focus of Ann Chowning's work: marriage and social organisation, gender and sexuality, social and economic change, leadership, religion, myth and human-animal relations. These essays include a survey of anthropology in Oceania (Harriet D. and Andrew P. Lyons) and cover Polynesia (Phyllis Herda, Judith Huntsman, Penelope Schoeffel), New Zealand (Joan Metge, Julie Park), the Solomon Islands (Christine Dureau) and Papua New Guinea (John Barker, Mark Busse, Michael Monsell-Davis, Mark Mosko, Maev O'Collins, Marilyn Strathern). There are also essays recollecting Ann Chowning as a teacher, colleague and friend (Jane C. Goodale, Virginia Greene, Harriet D. Lyons, Luisa Margolies, James Urry, Michael W. Young).