bronislaw malinowski

I’m a fan of some of Bronislaw Malinowski’s work.  Here’s an engaging BBC documentary about him (the below is part 1 — here are all the parts).  Very interesting (well, don’t let the acting throw you off).  Particularly, see the interesting analysis (in part 4) of the purposes and reasons of the Kula Expeditions in Trobriand society.

If you are not familiar with Malinowski’s work, here’s a short primer (pdf, American Anthropologist, 1943).