alternating sounds

anthropology

comparative method

cosmography

cultural particularism

cultural relativism

culture

dancing

historical particularism

history

ideoplastic - physioplastic art

marriage

native point of view

primitive

race

seeing eye as an organ of traditions

shackle of tradition

trickster

nationality

American

German

occupation / innovator as

anthropologist

university professor

Columbia University

innovator in the field of

archaeology

physical

university teacher

linguist

president of the Linguistic Society of America

cause of death

natural causes

geographer

philosopher

scientist

scientific organization

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina

Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences

Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities

Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters

American Antiquarian Society

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

National Academy of Sciences

Austrian Academy of Sciences

Linguistic Society of America

Primitive Art in Civilized Places

Anthropology and Modern Life

Race, Language, and Culture

The Mind of Primitive Man

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is a field that deals with man as a social being. It is not simply an abstract, objective science, but a means toward implementing liberal objectives, such as eliminating the evils of racism and colonialism, and aiding their victims.

Anthropology deals with man as a social being' (Encyclopedia of the social sciences v.II 'anthropology entry'). 'For Boas, anthropology was not simply an abstract, objective 'sceintific' discipline disengaged from the everyday world. Rather, it was a means toward implementing liberal objectives, such as eliminating the evils of racism and colonialism, and aiding their victims. In Boas's hands, 'science' became a weapon against Socail Darwinist and others who sought to use pseudo-science to oppress those at a power disadvantage'

is responsible for singling out clearly a domain of knowledge that heretofore has not been treated by any other science.

The historical development of the work of anthropologist seems to single out clearly a domain of knowledge that heretofore has not been treated by any other science Franz Boas

is tasked with inquiring into the causes that have brought about the observed differentiation, and to investigate the sequence of events that have led to the establishment of the multifarious forms of human life.

It is our task to inquire into the causes that have brought about the observed differentiation, and to investigate the sequence of events that have led to the establishment of the multifarious forms of human life Franz Boas

is a world-view with 'its source in the personal feeling of man towards the world, towards the phenomena surrounding him'.

cosmography which he defines as having, 'its source in the personal feeling of man towards the world, towards the phenomena surrounding him.'39 ' (net) Boas, Franz. 'Race, Language, and Culture'

is the claim that cultures do not exist along an evolutionary continuum but that each culture is uniquely equipped to its own time and place.

the claim that cultures do not exist along an evolutionary continuum but that each culture is uniquely equipped to its own time and place.

is not to imply moral relativism, but rather is intended to warn against universalizing western categories.

not moral relativism but warns against universalizing our to evaluate other categories.

is the totality of the mental and physical reactions and activities that characterize the behavior of the individuals composing a social group collectively and individually in relation to their natural environment, to other groups, to members of the group itself, and of each individual to himself.

Franz Boas defines cultural relativism as 'the totality of the mental and physical reactions and activities that characterize the behavior of the individuals composing a social group collectively and individually in relation to their natural environment, to other groups, to members of the group itself, and of each individual to himself.'

Franz Boas defines culture as the relativity of all cultivation in which 'The cultivation of the heart which I find or do not find here just as much as amongst us'.

is the totality of an individual's mental and physical reactions and activities in relation to their natural environment. Culture mediates and limits perception.

argued that one's culture may mediate and thus limit one's perceptions in less obvious ways. He understood 'culture' to include not only certain tastes in food, art, and music, or beliefs about religion. He assumed a much broader notion of culture, defined as the totality of the mental and physical reactions and activities that characterize the behavior of the individuals composing a social group collectively and individually in relation to their natural environment, to other groups, to members of the group itself, and of each individual to himself.[5]' (wikipedia)

is rhythmic movements of any part of the body. Music and dance are considered to be mutually determined.

The 'rythmic movements of any part of the body' and considered 'the two forms of expression' (music an dance) to be 'mutually determined (1951: 344).

is a term coined by harris to describe franz boas' approach which argued that each society is a collective representation of its unique historical past.

Founded by Franz Boas, historical particularism rejected the cultural evolutionary model that had dominated anthropology up until Boas. It argued that each society is a collective representation of its unique historical past. Boas rejected parallel evolutionism, the idea that all societies are on the same path and have reached their specific level of development the same way all other societies have.[2] Instead, historical particularism showed that societies could reach the same level of cultural development through different paths.[2] Boas suggested that diffusion, trade, corresponding environment, and historical accident may create similar cultural traits.[2] Three traits, as suggested by Boas, are used to explain cultural customs: environmental conditions, psychological factors, and historical connections, history being the most important (hence the school's name).[2] . .. Critics of historical particularism argue that it is antitheoretical because it doesn't seek to make universal theories, applicable to all the world's cultures. Boas believed that theories would arise spontaneously once enough data was collected. This school of anthropological thought was the first to be uniquely American and Boas (his school of thought included) was, arguably, the most influential anthropological thinker in American history. (wikipedia)

is among the kwakiutl, a means of transmitting ceremonial privileges and familial names and masks between different groups. In cases where no daughter is present, a 'fictitious' marriage can occur.

Marriage among the Kwakiutl typically occurs between two people from different numaym, and is most commonly used to transmit ceremonial privileges and familial names and masks (Suttles 1991: 92). It is expected that a suitor's family will pay a bride price to his prospective wife's family, which is to be paid back by the father of the bride over time, often exceeding the cost of the original payment significantly and including the imparting of ceremonial privileges to the groom. The rules surrounding marriage and annulments are extensive and often quite complicated. For instance, if a family has no daughter but wishes to extend their name, property, or masks and ceremonial privileges, a 'fictitious' marriage may occur. Concerning annulment, if a bride price was paid in full, it could be decided by the bride's father that the marriage had been annulled and the bride then married to someone else, with each successive marriage bringing higher social rank to the bride until, at her fourth marriage, her social rank is soundly-established (Boas 1966: 55).

is the idea that high empirical standards should be met whereby the researcher should learn the language of the research subject and work from the inside out.

is those people whose forms of life are simple and uniform, and the contents and form of whose culture are meager and intellectually inconsistent.

Primitives are those people whose forms of life are simple and uniform, and the contents and form of whose culture are meager and intellectually inconsistent' (Boas 1938: 197). 'He goes on to point out that different peoples are primitive or advanced in different resects. Australian Aborigines are poor in material culture but have a complex social structure. The Indians of California do superb artistic work, but their culture lacks complexity in other ways. He likens such differences to those between poor and rich in America nad Europe. He adds that no people are untouched by foreign influences, and concludes that to assign a whole culture to a uniform category of 'primitive' or 'civilized' is pointless.' (101) History and Theory in Anthropology By Alan Barnard )

is a far more physiologically fluid concept than previously believed and has nothing to do with mental or moral features... only physical ones.

'According to Boas, race should denote only specific physical features, rather than mental or moral ones. Moreover, those physical features were not fixed. Boas's work in physical anthropology showed that physical types could be changed within one generation, which indicated that race was a far more fluid concept that previously believed (Jackson The Study of Race Between the Wars p.. 19)

is a constraint that tradition places on us, which we believe we would be able to break if we were only able to recognize.

a 'How can we recognize the shackles that tradition places upon us' Because if we are able to recognize them, then we are able to break them.

is a caricature of man with a strong libido.

With Boas, however, the trickster was taken out of its religious context. By viewing the trickster as a joker and caricature of man with a strong libido, Boas set the frame for later anthropological and folkloristic interpretations in North America (Hultkrantz 1997:8-9).'

Franz Boas

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Franz BoasThinkers

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Franz Boas