At the Interface: The Household and Beyond (Monographs in Economic Anthropology Series)

Co-published with Society for Economic Anthropology (SEA), this volume takes a unique approach to the study of economics. Rather than concentrating on a defined analytical unit, it explores economics from the interface. That is, it examines the various kinds of relationships that can exist among and within economic units in a community and beyond. The chapters treat the theme of the interface from four different perspectives: intracommunity interfaces, interfaces and the organization of communities, extracommunity interfaces, and the question of interfaces in archaeological investigations. The authors address various topics related to household economy, including the creation of different identities through shared labor, the dialectical relationship between global forces and local producers in structuring economic contexts, strategies that promote economic flexibility, and environmental adaptation.