A01=Noga Arikha
Anthropology
Author_Noga Arikha
Category=DNB
Category=DNBM
Category=JB
Category=JHM
Claude-Levi-Strauss
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eq_biography-true-stories
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eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
Eugenics
History of culture and ideas
History of racism and eugenics
Indigenous rights
Indigenous studies
Margaret Mead
Nineteenth century science
Pacific Northwest
PNW
Race studies
Sociology of race
Twentieth century science
Product details
- ISBN 9780300241235
- Dimensions: 146 x 210mm
- Publication Date: 22 Jul 2025
- Publisher: Yale University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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A thought-provoking account of the life and work of Franz Boas and his influential role in shaping modern anthropology
Franz Boas (1858–1942) is widely acknowledged for his pioneering work in the field of cultural anthropology. His rigorous studies of variations across societies were aimed at demonstrating that cultures and peoples were not shaped by biological predispositions. This book traces Boas’s life and intellectual passions from his roots in Germany and his move to the United States in 1884, partly in response to growing antisemitism in Germany, to his work with First Nations communities and his influential role as a teacher, mentor, and engaged activist who inspired an entire generation.
Drawing from Boas’s numerous but rarely read writings, Noga Arikha brings to life the man and the ideas he developed about the complex interplay of mind and culture, biology and history, language and myth. She provides a comprehensive picture of the cultural contexts in which he worked, of his personal and professional relationships, and of his revolutionary approach to fieldwork. He was celebrated in his lifetime for the cultural relativism he developed and the arguments he marshaled against entrenched racialism. But his was a constant battle, and Arikha shows how urgently relevant his voice and legacy have become again today.
Franz Boas (1858–1942) is widely acknowledged for his pioneering work in the field of cultural anthropology. His rigorous studies of variations across societies were aimed at demonstrating that cultures and peoples were not shaped by biological predispositions. This book traces Boas’s life and intellectual passions from his roots in Germany and his move to the United States in 1884, partly in response to growing antisemitism in Germany, to his work with First Nations communities and his influential role as a teacher, mentor, and engaged activist who inspired an entire generation.
Drawing from Boas’s numerous but rarely read writings, Noga Arikha brings to life the man and the ideas he developed about the complex interplay of mind and culture, biology and history, language and myth. She provides a comprehensive picture of the cultural contexts in which he worked, of his personal and professional relationships, and of his revolutionary approach to fieldwork. He was celebrated in his lifetime for the cultural relativism he developed and the arguments he marshaled against entrenched racialism. But his was a constant battle, and Arikha shows how urgently relevant his voice and legacy have become again today.
Noga Arikha is a historian of ideas and philosopher, and Senior Expert at the European University Institute, Florence. Her books include The Ceiling Outside: The Science and Experience of the Disrupted Mind and Passions and Tempers: A History of the Humours.
