Chapter 1: What is hermeneutics? According to Zimmermann, a simple answer to the question is that "it means interpretation" (p.1). "Interpretation occurs in many fields of study and also day-to-day life. We interpret plays, novels, abstract art, music and movies, employment contracts, the law, the Bible, the Quran, and other sacred texts; but we also... Continue Reading →
Book Summary: On the Study Methods of Our Time / Giambattista Vico
I According to Vico, “the men of the modern age, have discovered many things of which the Ancients were entirely ignorant; the Ancients, on the other hand, knew much still unknown to us” (p.4). And pursues the question ‘which study method is finer and better, ours or the Ancients?’ while describing his goal as “to... Continue Reading →
Anthropology and ‘Southeast Asia’: Can the Region Be a Field?
Introduction If one is to investigate the academic circles today, s/he can soon realize that every academic field is being divided into further specializations and each researcher is asked to narrow down their focus and to do a more meticulous study. This is something which I have personally become conscious of as an anthropology student—seeing that a major difference between... Continue Reading →