Technology and Culture: An Anthology ed. by Melvin Kranzberg, William H. Davenport (review)

Books 77 of references-many not familiar in the West. The index is marginally useful and one does better by using the table of contents to find specific topics. An artist is not apt to find much of interest in this study nor will the abundance of references be useful. There are no direct references to art media. I suspect that the optical illusion material would be found disappointing, as it merely supports what is already available in more popular works. The flicker color experiments intrigue me and I intend to investigate further the data obtained. This field of investigation is still highly speculative and is actively being pursued. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that this book is available for those interested in its subject. It is a resource that should be included in any survey of the phenomenon of phosphenes and of the electrical stimulation of the retina. Reference 1. L. A. Riggs, J. C. Cornsweet and W.G. Lewis, Effect of Light on Electrical Excitation of the Human Eye, Psychol. Monogr., 71,No. 434 (1957). Structuralism: An Introduction. David Robey, ed. Oxford Univ. Press, London, 1973. 153 pp. $2.75. Culture as Praxis. Zygmunt Bauman. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1973. 198 pp. E3.25. Reviewed by Paul Heyer* There are now nearly a dozen English language anthologies devoted to structuralism. David Robey’s is unique by virtue of the fact that, being a compendium of the 1972 Wolfson College Lectures on the subject, it represents the unified effort of a group of scholars to focus on an immediate topic. Thisis a short but salient collection in which each author, in addition to making specificreference to his own field of expertise, also gives a general introduction to the aims of the structural method. Although structuralism began as a new systematic examination of linguistics shortly after the turn of the century (largely inspired by Saussure), it has now spread to numerous other disciplines. However, linguistics, and subsequently the work of anthropologist Claude Levi-Straws, still remain the core examples of the structural method, the sources from which theorists in other fields continually draw inspiration. The recent and popular fascination with the problem has largely resulted from Levi-Strauss’s efforts to apply notions derived from linguistics to other domains of culture and his relating of this to a general science of signs (semiology); though it must be noted that the areas to which structural analysis have now been applied are so diverse that Levi-Strauss himself has expressed bewilderment as to what is going on. A unified view of structuralism is still lacking but, one hopes, forthcoming. At least one of the contributors to the symposium, Jonathan Culler, is aware of this need. Following Robey’s brief introduction,John Lyons begins the serieswith an essay on structuralism in linguistics that, in addition to explicating Saussure’s theory of language, also provides a clear and illuminating introduction to some basic linguistic concepts; it ends with a reference to the possibility of valid linguistic universals-a problem of growing importance. Jonathan Culler then attempts to ferret out what is distinctive in contemporary structuralism by showing how it developed out of linguistics and semiology . Edmund Leach puts structuralism into the context of anthropologyby analyzing cultural rules with techniques derived from linguistics. Umberto Eco is concerned with the dependence of almost all human communication and social life on sign systems. Though the possibility of structuralism in literature has often been talked about, TzvetanTodorov actually attempts to show it. Henry James is his victim. The quest is not for interpretive criticism but rather to reveal formal laws in a scientific sense. John Mepham tackles, and masterfully, the relationship between *5105 St. Catherine St. East, Apt. No. 1, Montreal, Quebec H1V 2A5, Canada. structuralism, science and philosophy. And, finally, Robin Gandy ends the series by discussing the connection that several structuralist concepts may have to certain aspects of mathematics. In providing a general introduction to the subject, this anthology succeeds better than its precursors, which have largely been collections of essays originally separate in time and place. The facility of the authors does not make structrualism any less difficult but it does begin to...