Description: First Published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Review Quotes:
"Icelanders have always been keenly aware of the cultural importance of language and the social power of texts; the language and literature have been the touchstones of Icelandic identity from the medieval Commonwealth to the modern nation-state. In this masterful and innovative study by anthropologist Gísli Pálsson, the preoccupation of Icelanders with language and texts serves not only as a highly productive point of departure for the anthropological exploration of Icelandic history, society, and culture, but also as a frame of reference for a trenchant critique of textual ideologies and practices in anthropology itself. The range of BThe Textual Life of the Savants/B - from the Sturlunga Saga to the Sexual Life of Savages, ni to novels, orientalism to the dative case - is truly remarkable."