Sir Edward Evans-Pritchard: Strange Beliefs
Edward Evans-Pritchard was the first trained anthropologist to do work in Africa, where he lived among the Azande and studied their belief in witchcraft. Later, he worked with the Nuer tribe in the Sudan. His work on witchcraft caused philosophers t...
Bronislaw Malinowski: Off the Veranda
Bronislaw Malinowski changed the way that field studies were carried out. He worked on a remote group of Pacific islands—the Trobriands—and lived for long periods among the people he was studying. A brilliant linguist, he quickly learned their l...
Coming of Age: Margaret Mead
Although her fieldwork has been criticized, Margaret Mead was one of the foremost fieldworkers of her day. In the United States, Bali, and New Guinea, she examined child development, sex, and temperament to see what role society plays in making peop...
Franz Boas: The Shackles of Tradition
Franz Boas was the first distinguished social scientist in the United States to challenge the prevailing concept of racial inferiority. He actively campaigned on behalf of black people in America in the early part of the 20th century. Considered the...