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Book reviews for "McFeely,_Eliza" sorted by average review score:

The Zuni and the American Imagination
Published in Paperback by Hill & Wang Pub (10 October, 2002)
Author: Eliza McFeely
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Richly layered
This is a richly layered book, full of interesting and thoughtful insights into the Zunis and the anthropologists who have studied them. McFeely combines a sympathetic approach to Zuni culture with intelligent analysis of the Euro-American anthropological tradition. Her language is sometimes difficult, a reflection no doubt of the fact that this book had its origins in a Ph. D. dissertation at New York University (some unfortunate passages are so complex and convoluted that they come close to defying comprehension). But this is more a stylistic problem that one of substance. I was particularly taken with McFeely's descriptions of the Eastern anthropological museums of the early twentieth century in which Zuni artifacts were displayed in row on row of glass cases, and with her observation that a dialogue took place between the frozen objects in the cases and the peering faces reflected in the glass (of course, the peering faces were learning about themselves even as they studied Zuni). It is a good metaphor for the book. Readers who are interested in the complex interplay between Native American cultures and the dominant European culture of the United States, will, I think, find this book rewarding--but only if they are willing to read slowly and carefully.


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