Postmoderní a kritická antropologie

Abstract

This article focuses on the emergence of postmodern and critical anthropology in the late twentieth century approaches which strongly affected main epistemological assumptions. Here attention is paid to dismissal of ahistoric structuralism, essentialism and universalist positivism and to the move towards much more historical awareness concerned with conditions of production of anthropological knowledge. Critical re-readings of anthropological body of knowledge done by postmodern and critical anthropologists (e. g. Clifford, Rabinow, Marcus) reflect political, discursive and rhetorical aspects of anthropological representations. The main insights of French poststructuralist (Foucault, Derrida, Bourdieu) were adopted and led to discoursive and dialogical paradigm inside this movement. Advancement of critical reflections has resulted into many contemporary approaches in the field of social constructivism, politics of identity, globalisation and transnationalism.