A Social History of Anthropology in the United States

by Thomas C. Patterson

Overview

Thomas Patterson's text is one of very few comprehensive introductions to the social history of anthropology in the United States. In this new edition, he has fully revised each chapter, repositioned the dating and the grouping structure of relevant events, and added a totally new chapter which brings the discussion up-to-date in its focus on contemporary anthropology and anthropological theory from 2000 to 2017.

At a time of intense political tension and flux, the questions of what anthropology is, and what anthropologists do have resurfaced with new vigour. Patterson's investigation of the origins and formation of the discipline provides fascinating insights into the social history of America. Patterson addresses the negative reputation that anthropology took on as an offspring of imperialism, and shows how this status is reductive and unhelpfully dismissive. Instead, he shows how anthropology was both implicated in those sociohistorical developments, and critical of them at the same time. In fact, the dialogues which anthropologists have participated in amongst themselves have prevented them from perpetuating behaviour which could lead to allegations of imperialism, and have instead enabled them to create a discipline that is characterised by a dialectical process.

Patterson shows how his study of the historical development of anthropology in the United States illuminates the role of anthropology in the modern world through his examination of the circumstances that gave rise to it. For example, the shifting social and political economic conditions in which anthropological knowledge has been produced and shaped, the appearance of practices centred in particular regions or groups, the place of anthropology in different power structures, and the role of the educator in forging, perpetuating and changing representations of past and contemporary peoples. This is important reading for those interested in introducing themselves to the theory and practice of anthropology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350076204
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/23/2020
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Thomas C. Patterson is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of California, Riverside, USA. He is author of Karl Marx, Anthropologist (2009), Marx's Ghost (2003), and The Inca Empire (1992).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

Organization of the book 4

1 Nation-building on the edge of empires, 1600-1877 8

Establishing a national identity and the dialectics of anthropology 9

Westward expansion, Manifest Destiny, and race theory 17

Slavery, class struggle, and war 26

Discussion 29

2 Anthropology in the Age of the Robber Barons, 1860-1929 31

Societal evolution 32

Professionalization, certification, and political commitment 44

Struggles over the future of anthropology, 1916-1932 55

Discussion 63

3 Anthropology and the search for social order, 1929-1945 67

Anthropology on the eve of the Depression 68

Anthropology and the New Deal, 1933-1941 76

Anthropology and the war years, 1941-1945 87

Discussion 92

4 Decolonization, the Cold War, and McCarthyism, 1945-1973 98

The reorganization of American anthropology, 1945-1953 101

American anthropology and the Cold War, 1954-1964 111

American anthropology in crisis, 1965-1973 120

Discussion 129

5 Crises, neoliberalism, and globalization, 1973-2000 131

The state of anthropology and its reorganization 133

The turn to Marx: anthropology, political economy, and history 137

Structuralist anthropologies 145

Ecological anthropology and neo-evolutionism 147

Symbolic, interpretive, and postmodernist anthropologies 150

Diversity and inequality 160

6 Anthropology in the New Gilded Age, 1990-2019 165

Ethics, politics, and the profession 167

Toward an historically informed anthropology 173

Historical political economy 175

Inequality, identity, and intersectionality 179

Racism, populism, fascism 182

Anthropology in the age of global warming 184

Discussion 187

Bibliography 189

Index 227

Editorial Reviews

It is critically important to understand how anthropology was shaped by American nation building, and the role of anthropological efforts in that project. This is why Tom Patterson’s concise and accessible book is essential reading for graduates and advanced undergraduates in anthropology.

Juris M. Milestone, Department of Anthropology, Temple University, United States

Tom Patterson has done it again! Far, far more than a narrow intellectual history of anthropology, A Social History of Anthropology in the United States is a clear and penetrating analysis of the changing social and political contexts — and conflicts — that shaped anthropology’s history and intellectual development. The depth and breadth of scholarship in this book will surely make it an authoritative text for a new generation of scholars who are invested in moving past anthropology’s liberal suppositions and in aligning the discipline more closely with anti-imperial, -capitalist, and -colonial social movements.

Jeff Maskovsky, The CUNY Graduate Center, United States

From the Publisher

Patterson (Univ. of California, Riverside; Change and Development in the 20th Century) here examines the social, political, and economic circumstances contributing to the character and scope of anthropology in the United States. He then uses this history as a springboard for discussing the place of anthropology in the larger world, arguing that anthropologists should strive to explain and perhaps rectify injustices. The chapters covering the years from 1776 to 1945 provide a lively, fast-paced chronology of developments, demonstrating how the appointment of certain key individuals to decision-making committees affected practices and priorities. In later chapters, the emphasis shifts to a more standard discussion of recent theories. Patterson's selection of topics reflects his interest in "macro" issues such as stratification, political hegemony, and economic exploitation. He highlights the projects of materialist and especially Marxist anthropologists but does not mention several equally important trends, including structuralism and the entire post-culture-and-personality literature in cognitive/psychological anthropology. Because of these omissions, this otherwise valuable book should be counterbalanced by readings presenting another view, such as Philip K. Bock's Continuities in Psychological Anthropology (o.p.) or Roy G. D'Andrade's The Development of Cognitive Anthropology (Cambridge Univ., 1995). Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.-Jay H. Bernstein, Fordham Univ. Lib., New York

Library Journal

This succinct and clearly written narrative will be worthwhile reading for anyone interested in American anthropology and should be a useful tool for anthropologists going to study, research or teach in the United States.

The Australian Journal of Anthropology

This is an important book. It does much to re-articulate anthropological developments within the political-economic matrix that birthed them. Patterson brings long-ignored political forces to the fore, the end result being a new focus on factors overlooked by other disciplinary histories. This book should be read by all anthropologists interested in examining the links between the production and consumption of knowledge.

Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute

From the new republic to the new economy, Tom Patterson provides a detailed and smart history of the social and political contours that have shaped the methods, theory, and anthropologists who have created and recreated the discipline in the United States. The first monograph-length history of anthropology in a generation, Patterson has written the only history of anthropology that looks beyond the academy to document the twists and turns of the political, ethical, and social issues that have and continue to impact U.S. anthropology. Beautifully written, sprightly argued, and very informative, Patterson has written a critical text that will change the way we think about and interpret the history of anthropology.

Lee D.Baker

Patterson has given us a fine and politically informed history of American Anthropology that engages the big issues of American history. Why are some research questions important to US scholars and others are not? How have the nation's ideological and social projects shaped anthropologists' scholarly agendas? And, conversely, how have anthropologists across the political spectrum helped shape intellectual and political debates of national importance? Patterson's thoughtful and concise answers to these questions add an important perspective to the history of anthropology.

UCLA Karen Brodkin

Tom Patterson has written a trail-blazing social and institutional history of American anthropology. He has demonstrated not only the impact that American Society has had on anthropology but also the significant impact that anthropology has had on American society. His book is a powerful wake-up call for American anthropologists to stop playing second-fiddle to cultural studies and resume their multifaceted dialogue with the American people.

McGill University Bruce Trigger