“Civilization has ceased to be that delicate flower which was preserved and painstakingly cultivated in one or two sheltered areas of a soil rich in wild species ... Mankind has opted for monoculture; it is in the process of creating a mass civilization, as beetroot is grown in the mass. Henceforth, man's daily bill of fare will consist only of this one item.”
Tristes Tropiques is a personal account of Claude Lévi-Strauss's travels through the Amazon and Madagascar. The book combines his observations of indigenous cultures with reflections on the nature of culture and society. Lévi-Strauss's work is characterized by its structuralist approach, which seeks to uncover the underlying patterns and structures that underlie human societies. more
Claude Levi-Strauss was a French anthropologist known for his structuralist theories and his analyses of myths, kinship, and human culture. His work has had a profound impact on post-structuralism and semiotics. more
“Cultivating and conserving diversity is no luxury in our times: it is a survival imperative.”