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The Trashing of Margaret Mead Paul Shankman

The Trashing of Margaret Mead By Paul Shankman

The Trashing of Margaret Mead by Paul Shankman


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Summary

Explores the dimensions of the Mead-Freeman controversy as it developed publicly and as it played out privately, including the personal relationships, professional rivalries, and larger-than-life personalities that drove it. This book reviews key questions about Samoan sexuality, the alleged hoaxing of Mead, and the meaning of the controversy.

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The Trashing of Margaret Mead Summary

The Trashing of Margaret Mead: Anatomy of an Anthropological Controversy by Paul Shankman

In 1928 Margaret Mead published ""Coming of Age in Samoa"", a fascinating study of the lives of adolescent girls that transformed Mead herself into an academic celebrity. In 1983 anthropologist Derek Freeman published a scathing critique of Mead's Samoan research, badly damaging her reputation. Resonating beyond academic circles, his case against Mead tapped into important public concerns of the 1980s, including sexual permissiveness, cultural relativism, and the nature/nurture debate. In venues from the ""New York Times"" to the TV show ""Donahue"", Freeman argued that Mead had been 'hoaxed' by Samoans whose innocent lies she took at face value. In ""The Trashing of Margaret Mead"", Paul Shankman explores the many dimensions of the Mead-Freeman controversy as it developed publicly and as it played out privately, including the personal relationships, professional rivalries, and larger-than-life personalities that drove it. Providing a critical perspective on Freeman's arguments, Shankman reviews key questions about Samoan sexuality, the alleged hoaxing of Mead, and the meaning of the controversy. Why were Freeman's arguments so readily accepted by pundits outside the field of anthropology? What did Samoans themselves think? Can Mead's reputation be salvaged from the quicksand of controversy? Written in an engaging, clear style and based on a careful review of the evidence, ""The Trashing of Margaret Mead"" illuminates questions of enduring significance to the academy and beyond.

The Trashing of Margaret Mead Reviews

A superbly crafted and highly readable book that essentially lays the Mead-Freeman controversy to rest. - James Cote, author of Adolescent Storm and Stress: An Evaluation of the Mead-Freeman Controversy ""There is simply no other book like it. What Shankman does, very successfully, is analyze the nature of the controversy in meticulous detail, examine the main participants in the debate, and evaluate the quality of the arguments on both sides. Valuable to anthropologists and other academics, the book is also eminently accessible to any interested layperson."" - Nancy McDowell, author of The Mundugumor: From the Field Notes of Margaret Mead and Reo Fortune ""A compelling read about the controversy. Shankman, whose anthropological engagement with Samoa covers forty years and who met both Freeman and Mead, presents measured accounts of their careers, reasons for studying Samoa, and personal lives."" - Roger Sanjek, author of The Future of Us All: Race and Neighborhood Politics in New York City

About Paul Shankman

Paul Shankman, professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has conducted fieldwork in Samoa periodically since 1966. He has written a number of articles on the Mead-Freeman controversy.

Additional information

CIN0299234541G
9780299234546
0299234541
The Trashing of Margaret Mead: Anatomy of an Anthropological Controversy by Paul Shankman
Used - Good
Paperback
University of Wisconsin Press
2009-12-30
360
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

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