Adam Kuper

Adam Kuper is a British social anthropologist whose work examines kinship, the history of anthropology, and African societies.

Connect

Social anthropology: The comparative study of human societies, social relations, and institutions. This is the discipline in which Kuper developed his work.
Anthropology and Anthropologists: A historical study by Adam Kuper of British social anthropology and its practitioners. This book presents his account of the field’s formation and major figures.
E. E. Evans-Pritchard: A British social anthropologist known for studies of African societies and religion. Evans-Pritchard is among the major figures in the tradition Kuper histories.
Descent theory: An anthropological approach that explains social organization through groups traced by descent. It contrasts with analyses that give marriage and alliance primary explanatory weight.
Kinship: Social relationships understood through descent, marriage, and other culturally recognized ties. Kinship is a central topic in Kuper’s scholarship.
The Invention of Primitive Society: A book by Adam Kuper examining the intellectual history of the idea of primitive society. It shows how Kuper analyzes foundational concepts rather than treating them as timeless.
A. R. Radcliffe-Brown: A British anthropologist who helped develop structural functionalism in social anthropology. His theoretical program forms part of Kuper’s account of British anthropology.
Alliance theory: An anthropological approach that explains kinship through marriage exchanges and relations between groups. Its emphasis on marriage challenges descent-centered accounts of kinship.
Structural functionalism: An approach that explains social institutions through their roles in maintaining social structures. Kuper’s historical studies examine this influential anthropological tradition.
Wives for Cattle: A book by Adam Kuper about marriage, exchange, and social relations among southern African peoples. It applies anthropological analysis to marriage and exchange in African societies.