Bronislaw Malinowski's Importance to Cultural Anthropology - Essay Example

In the documentary videos related to Malinowski perused for this essay, one could see his powers of observation and synthesis. The rest of this essay will summarize the importance of the man and his works to the field of cultural anthropology. Malinowski’s ethnography of the Trobriand Islands made an immediate impact on anthropological circles. His description of the officialdom and hierarchy under Kula ring went on to become a cornerstone work in the realm of cultural anthropology. He paid particular attention to the operation of reciprocity and exchange in social groups.

A key to his success is his sense of adventure, which is a pre-requisite to anyone involved in fieldwork. Along with Margaret Mead, Malinowski can be said to have pioneered and mastered fieldwork for anthropological projects. The methods employed by him for fieldwork, including ‘participatory observation’, are now established as fundamental to anthropological research. (Cravens, 2010, p.301) It is a symbol of Bronislaw Malinowski’s scholarly fame that many eminent anthropologists from his next generation took his tutelage and guidance.

These included Hortense Powdermaker, Meyer Fortes, Raymond Firth, etc. Firth, in particular, had gone on to write detailed treatises on Malinowski’s works. Malinowski’s legend continues to hold firm even today, though later evolution in anthropological thought has affected it a little. “He has continued to be a great name in anthropology. But while his reputation as a superb field-worker has been maintained, his fame as a really great teacher in the Socratic tradition has been allowed to fade, and his achievement in creating a new and enduring approach to anthropology has not been properly understood.

Without him, the aridities of the Kulturkreislehre and the fantasies of pan-Egyptianism would doubtless have in due course been corrected and overcome. But for the younger generation of anthropologists in Europe, at least, he fought that battle and won it by the end of the 'twenties'.” (Troy, 1998, p.129) Of all the contributions made by Malinowski, his ideas related to ethnographic research is the most well-known. He approached the study of social systems through solid methodology and theory.

It is not surprise then that one of the documentary films about his life and work is titled ‘Off the Verandah’, for he brought anthropology off the veranda and got knee-deep in fieldwork. In other words, the hands-on approach to studying cultural anthropology is one of his most valued contributions. He emphasized the importance of such ‘detailed participant observation’ for understanding distant cultures and social systems. He inspired a whole generation of anthropologists through these insightful and inspiring lectures.

After his appointment as a lecturer in Social Anthropology in 1922, he gave a series of short courses on such topics as ‘Early Beliefs and Social Differentiation’, ‘Social Organization of Australian Aborigines’, and ‘Economics of Primitive Peoples’. His seminar on Primitive Mentality ranks as equally important. His importance as a cultural anthropologist is further affirmed by the fact that he travelled far and wide in the European Continent giving lectures in Geneva, Vienna, Rome, Oslo, etc.

His legacy and pre-eminence is registered by his appointment to