Why Do Men Barbecue?: Recipes for Cultural Psychology

Cultural anthropologist and University of Chicago professor Shweder's ""recipes"" are lucid, timely investigations of suffering, the domestic life of Hindu women, the sleeping arrangements parents of different nationalities and classes institute with their children, and female genital mutilation-to name a few. Pillorying the ""secular theodicy"" of victimization, Shweder (and, in this particular essay, his co-authors Nancy C. Much, Manamohan Mahapatra and Lawrence Park) argues that those who suffer are not inherent victims. An expert on the cultural life of South Asian villages and towns, Shweder (Thinking Through Cultures) applies the doctrine of ""karmic consequences"" to current public health policy in the U.S., addressing the idea of a ""sin tax"" such as smokers experience. The American bent towards autonomy often doesn't jibe with the needs of the community, but Shweder persuasively asserts that ""as we search around for postmodern ways to rethink our responsibilities to society and nature, it would not be surprising if we began to acknowledge the intuitive appeal of ideas such as sacred self, sacred world, karma, duty, pollution, and sin."" In ""Fundamentalism for Highbrows: The Aims of Education Address at the University of Chicago,"" he admits that the notion of an open mind is hard to define but cogently sets out his exacting ""principles."" Though Shweder is a vital essayist whose ear is tuned to cultural currents, the essays that cover anthropological issues may fail to interest general readers. (Apr.)