StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

What makes Margaret Mead so important in Anthropology circles - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
It is fair to say that Margaret Mead is one of the most influential cultural anthropologists of the century gone by. Although some of her inferences have been proven to be flawed, she is a pioneer in the field who opened new vistas within the field of anthropology…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.1% of users find it useful
What makes Margaret Mead so important in Anthropology circles
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "What makes Margaret Mead so important in Anthropology circles"

Download file to see previous pages

In the documentary videos about her life and work perused for this essay, one could witness the key developments in anthropological study that she initiated. One could see in the videos, that Mead contributed immensely to not just the study of cultural anthropology retrospectively, but she played a role in creating new trends and fashions in her own era. In this view, Mead was a key figure who ushered the cultural upheavals in the American society of the 1960s. The ‘Hippies’ culture of this period was inspired by thoughts of such intellectuals as Mead, who were able to present anthropology from a feminist perspective.

In her early field work in remote islands in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, Mead had documented the significance of face-to-face interactions, especially the crucial role that adults play in the lives of children, simply by virtue of their presence. Mead’s work on gender roles and behaviour in a society has withstood the scrutiny of time. For example, in the case of development of boys, by having regular contact with various kinds of men (some abrasive, some gentle, some caring, some others playful, some serious, some sporty, some cerebral, etc) boys get a well-rounded and empowering notion of what is possible in their own lives when they grow up.

This is in contrast with the Boy Scouts of America's rather narrow definition of proper masculinity, which causes more harm than help boys realize their full potential. For example, “misogyny and homophobia are characteristic of mid-century definitions of masculinity in part because those definitions are oppositional: a man is manly because he is not womanly, or feminine, or subject to the male gaze. Opening masculinity up to different modes of behavior, including traditionally "feminine" ones, helps to define men in the context of what they are, not what they are not.

Moving away from abstractions, and allowing boys the flexibility that we currently as a society claim to want for our girls, can only be for the good.” (Lanclos, 2010, p.341) Mead’s studies showed the impact of culture upon nature, at a time when the pre-eminence of nature was still holding forte. She followed the precedence set by Franz Boas (who had earlier conducted fieldwork in South Pacific) and pointed to the fact that attitudes and behavior related to sexual conduct differed greatly between the studied group and that of middle class Americans.

This was a radical new idea at that time, as adolescence was seen as universally turbulent and conflicted. Mead’s insights into the role of ‘nurture’ in sexual conduct revolutionized Western notions of culture and interpersonal relations. For example, the culture of these people from distant lands created a “more permissive, guilt-free attitude towards sexual intercourse in teenage years, without any commitment to permanent relationships”. (Cravens, 2010, p.299) In general, sex was seen as a recreation and indulged in for fun.

American readers of these studies were taken aback at first. But they soon warmed up to the allure of “exotic young maidens were having delightful sexual romps on exotic isles with a changing cast of young male companions was virtually irresistible to many literate Americans. Mead thus reached great fame and popularity in the United States.” (Cravens, 2010, p.299) Margaret Mead’s path-breaking book Coming of Age in Samoa offered such a fresh perspective that in the foreword to the book, her mentor Franz Boas summarizes the core thesis thus: “Courtesy, modesty, good manners, conformity to definite ethical standards are universal, but what constitutes these is not universal.

It is instructive to know that standards differ in the

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“What makes Margaret Mead so important in Anthropology circles Essay”, n.d.)
What makes Margaret Mead so important in Anthropology circles Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/anthropology/1454996-watch-all-videos-on-marget-mead-what-makes-her-so
(What Makes Margaret Mead so Important in Anthropology Circles Essay)
What Makes Margaret Mead so Important in Anthropology Circles Essay. https://studentshare.org/anthropology/1454996-watch-all-videos-on-marget-mead-what-makes-her-so.
“What Makes Margaret Mead so Important in Anthropology Circles Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/anthropology/1454996-watch-all-videos-on-marget-mead-what-makes-her-so.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF What makes Margaret Mead so important in Anthropology circles

Bronislaw Malinowski's Importance to Cultural Anthropology

“He has continued to be a great name in anthropology.... Along with margaret mead, Malinowski can be said to have pioneered and mastered fieldwork for anthropological projects.... Malinowski's ethnography of the Trobriand Islands made an immediate impact on anthropological circles.... Bronislaw Malinowski's importance to Cultural anthropology: Bronislaw Malinowski has made important contributions to the field of anthropology, especially during the discipline's formative years....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The Concepts and, Myths of the Modern World

Surveillance, becomes important tool of the state is but, a sort of mapping of contours, geographies, and finally human beings too.... An in-depth understanding of the above can, it is argued, lead to avoidance of the deficits or malaise (this seems so normal in the dystopian scheme), of the modern world....
16 Pages (4000 words) Essay

The History of Anthropology

Over the past twenty-five or so years of interdisciplinary conversation between anthropology and literary studies, something like a consensus has emerged on one fundamental point: that anthropology, though working within the language and methodologies of social science, also… Many of us are now comfortable elaborating upon the principle that the ethnographic text is as full of rhetorical devices, sweeps of imagination, blindnesses and insights, as an interesting work This recognition has a number of corollaries, including one that invites us to think about ethnographic texts -- and anthropology as a discipline -- in the terms we have traditionally used in periodizing literary history....
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay

Corporate World: Strategy and Culture, Time and Space

It has been discovered that the concept of culture is very important in the process of strategy on.... It has been recommended that further research should be conducted with regards to how time and space can influence the culture of an organisation so as to ascertain the exact interests of the stakeholders of an organisation since the technological innovations are bringing about sweeping changes on almost all facets of business.... Accordingly, the emphasis here will be on competitive strategy and not so much on production processes....
15 Pages (3750 words) Essay

Margaret Walker

Margaret Walker's research goes so far as to research a whole list of important issues, including ethics and psychology.... Consequently, Margaret Walker's tries to build her works in the way so as to sustain human understand of the major moral issues.... The purpose of the current assignment “margaret Walker” is to analyze the works of this great writer, and to produce a well-integrated picture of how margaret Walker's writing is able to influence the society....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Circles in a Circle by Vasily Kandinsky

The work of art chosen for this essay is circles in a Circle by Vasily Kandinsky.... … The paper analyzes Vasily Kandinsky's "circles in a circle".... The artist compasses and optically perfect circles, opens up a new sensibility to the art form.... Similar to fellow American artist Manierre Dawson, Kandinsky's style and substance was based on coordinates and curves suggested by parabolas, hyperbolas and circles.... The essay "circles in a Circle by Vasily Kandinsky" explores the work of art circles in a Circle by Vasily Kandinsky....
5 Pages (1250 words) Term Paper

Mead's Coming of Age in Samoa as an Attempt to Popularize Anthropology

Mead managed through the discipline to publish literary books in anthropology for It is evident that Mead's success in anthropology research depended on a firm foundation laid by Boaz on the discipline.... He managed to revolutionize anthropology from being a classified museum or federal state venture to a discipline studied as a profession at the University level… 5).... She managed to extend Boaz's ambition of making anthropology universal by sharing information she gained through books and doing extensive research on Boas pioneered disciplines such as cultural anthropology, nature versus nurture issues, emotional turbulence and biological development and adolescent issues....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Disneyland Historically Speaking

nbsp; This was exactly what Walt Disney had in mind – presenting the world with a playground of fantasy and nostalgia that could not be rivaled.... This essay "Disneyland Historically Speaking" discusses a cultural icon and popular pilgrimage stop for any and all.... nbsp;While many may consider Disneyland to be too full of modernistic pop art meaninglessness, others taking a closer look at the amusement park have found an authentic response to the ideals Disneyland presents to the average visitor....
20 Pages (5000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us