This collection includes correspondence that Boas carried on with his colleagues in anthropology, as well as with those in the other social sciences and sciences. He was, as well, a committed Socialist and an ardent opponent of both racism and fascism. As Professor of Anthropology at Columbia University, Boas made significant theoretical contributions to ethnology, linguistics, and physical anthropology, helping to ingrain the four fields approach in his discipline and introducing the concept of cultural relativism into wide currency. Trained as a geographer at the University of Heidelberg, Boas worked initially on the Inuit of Baffin Island and subsequently on the cultures of the Indians of the Northwest Pacific Coast, becoming a leading figure in American anthropology by the first decade of the twentieth century. S2CID 4065533.During the half century leading up to the Second World War, Franz Boas helped to define academic anthropology in the United States. ↑ "American Anthropological Association".↑ 6.0 6.1 "Historical Particularism: Definition & Examples".Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences. "Franz Boas, geographer, and the problem of disciplinary identity". "The Rise of Anthropological Theory: A History of Theories of Culture". A Franz Boas reader : the shaping of American anthropology, 1883-1911. ' Boas was a founding member of the American Anthropology Association (AAA) and served as one of the organization's first vice presidents. According to legend he died in the arms of none other than Claude Levi-Strauss.Ĭontributions to Anthropology įranz Boas is often credited with the development of ' historical particularism ', as well as ' cultural relativism. In 1963 Thomas Gossett claimed that "It is possible that Boas did more to combat race prejudice than any other person in history." Franz Boas died of a stroke on December 21, 1942. Boas was also involved with combating racism. He was very critical of Nazism as well as critical of the radical the war effort in the United States. This persisted for the remainder of his life, not being reversed until 2005. He taught his most famous students, who included: Alfred Kroeber, Ruth Benedict, Margaret Mead, Edward Sapir, and Zora Neale Hurston.įranz Boas was censored by the American Anthropological Association (AAA) in December 1919 for a publication he wrote denouncing anthropologists who became involved with the war effort during the First World War. There, he created the first PhD program for anthropology in the United States. University of Colombia īoas eventually settled at the University of Colombia in 1896. He also began the ground work that would eventually grow into historical particularism: the idea that every aspect of a culture has a unique history. It was here he argued for separating natural sciences from the humanities. During this time Boas became involved in the Fin de Siècle debates. After the exposition the material was given to the Field museum in Chicago, here Boas became the curator for anthropology. He went north to collect ethnographic material for the 1893 World's Colombian Exposition. He worked as an editor for Science and as a docent of anthropology at Clark University. Boas returned to Germany for a time, but due to rising antisemitism he decided to emigrate to the United States. Emigration to America īoas first traveled to Baffin Island in 1883 to study the native Inuit to see what role the environment plays in their migrations. By today's standards Boas' doctorate would be closer to a degree in geography than physics. He received a doctorate in physics in 1881 from the University of Kiel. Early Academic Career įranz Boas attended Heidelberg University for one semester, before transferring to Bonn University where he studied mathematics, physics, and geography. Boas studied natural history in primary school, and in secondary school he researched the natural range of plants. Because of parents, he received a very strong early education. This resulted in Boas did not identifying as Jewish, and left him with a dislike of religion. His parents were rich, well educated, and sought to expose him to the values of the enlightenment. Early life īoas was born in Germany to Jewish parents. He is considered by many to have been the 'Father of American Anthropology.' While today archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistics, and Biological anthropology are often considered somewhat separate discipline, Boas had a holistic approach, meaning to him they were a unified discipline. Franz Boas (J– December 21, 1942) was a German born American anthropologist.
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