Topic #7: The American Historical School: Methods

Under Boas fieldwork assumed central importance as a source of anthro- pological data. How did the people that the Boasians studied affect the kind of field investigation that they undertook?

All members of the class should read and be prepared to discuss:

Hinsley, Curtis M., Jr. & Bill Holm. 1976. A Cannibal in the National Museum: The Early Career of Franz Boas in America. American Anthropologist 78(2):306-316 (2 copies on reserve)

Boas, Franz. Race, Language and Culture (3 copies on reserve) pp. 564-592. 1908. Decorative Designs of Alaskan Needlecases: pp. 281-289. 1920. The Methods of Ethnology. pp. 243-259. 1932. The Aims of Anthropological Research. pp. 316-323. 1916. The Origin of Totemism.

Goldenweiser, Alexander. 1925. Diffusionism and Historical Ethnology. Journal of American Sociology 31:19-38 (3 copies on reserve)

Linton, Ralph. 1937. One Hundred Percent American. American Mercury 40:427-429 (to be distributed)
Wissler, Clark. 1914. The Influence of the Horse in the Development of Plains Culture. American Anthropologist 16: 1-25 (3 copies on reserve)

Wissler, Clark. 1917. The American Indian. New York: D.C. McMurtrie (pp. 1-3, 219-262) (CFAL: E58 W83 1950 - on reserve) (3 copies on reserve)

Kroeber, Alfred. 1939. Cultural and Natural Areas of Native North America. Berkeley, CA: Univ. of California Press pp. 1-14, 205-228 (3 copies on reserve)

Recommended:

Harris, Marvin. 1968. Historical Particularism: Boas, pp. 250-289 in The Rise of Anthropological Theory. New York: Crowell (CFAL: GN320 H33 - on reserve)

Freed, Stanley A. & Ruth S. Freed. 1983. Clark Wissler and the Development of Anthropology in the United States. American Anthropologist 85(4):800-825

Service, pp. 69074, 133-155, 229-250

Also of interest:

Goldenweiser, Alexander. 1910. Totemism: An Analytical Study. Journal of American Folklore 23:179-193

Goldschmidt, Walter (ed.). 1959. The Anthropology of Franz Boas. Memoirs, American Anthropological Assn. No. 89 (pp. 4-75) (CFAL: GN2 A22 no. 89)

Wissler, Clark. 1926. The Relation of Nature to Man in Aboriginal America. New York: Oxford Univ. Press (pp. xi-xx, 180-222) (Schwerin)

 

 

 


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