Claude Lévi-Strauss has died, at the age of 100. He was, in his way, a great mind, if somewhat typical of his era—a fact made manifest by the typical response to his death, which expresses not so much surprise that he has died as surprise that he was still alive, to have died.
Without getting into the specifics of structuralism and anti-structuralism, we still have to say that such books as The Savage Mind, The Raw and the Cooked,” and The Origin of Table Manners were compellingly interesting.
And yet . . . and yet, who killed cultural anthropology? There was a moment, of which Lévi-Strauss marks the peak, when it looked as though cultural anthropology were destined to be the premier field for understanding human beings: combining, somehow, philosophical insight, poetic analogy, and scientific method. Gone, all gone. Who now reads this stuff? Who now believes it?
There’s probably a history to be written about how postmodernism came out of anthropology, and then reached back to destroy anthropology, but I suppose Lévi-Strauss’ death is not the occasion for it.
November 3rd, 2009 | 6:03 pm
Barbara Pym probably knew the answer.
November 4th, 2009 | 8:52 am
Reports of our death have been greatly exaggerated. While prognosticators of doom have been heralding the end for over a decade, anthropology has continued to wrestle with postmodernism; many anthropologists have come to terms with the critiques that have been presented and have been advancing the discipline. See the conclusion to Erickson and Murphy’s A History of Anthropological Theory for an excellent presentation of the discipline’s vitality. As the old man in the cart said, “I’m not dead yet.”
November 13th, 2009 | 11:01 am
Anthropology as a definition and field study has been misunderstood by the general public. Cultural Anthropology studies different cultures around the world from their history, folklore, language, etc., because of the complexity involved in each cultural setting, many people do not have the time or care to really apply anthropological knowledge in their lives. It is easier to go and see a Psychologist or a religious leader. Cultural Anthropology focus on the culture and Psychology focus on the individual. Cultural Anthropology is not dead yet, but if it would the blame will go to: Capitalism and Marxism. Both of these ideologies are extreme and marginalized the individual in different ways.
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