Anthropology at the dawn of the Cold War / edited by Dustin M. Wax.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Wax, Dustin M.

Series:

Anthropology, culture, and society

Anthropology, culture and society

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Anthropology--History--20th century.

Anthropology.

History.

Physical Description:

vi, 185 pages cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; Ann Arbor, MI : Pluto, 2008.

Summary:

Anthropology at the Dawn of the Cold War breaks new ground in the history of anthropology, opening up an explicit examination of anthropology in the Cold War era. With historical distance, Cold War anthropology has begun to emerge as a distinct field within the discipline. This book brings a number of different approaches to bear on the questions raised by anthropology's Cold War history.

The contributors show how anthropologists became both tools and victims of the Cold War state during the rise of the United States after the end of the Second World War. Examining the intersection between science and power, this book is a compelling read for anthropologists, historians, sociologists, and anyone interested in the way in which colonial and neo-colonial knowledge is produced and constructed.

Contents:

Introduction: Anthropology at the Dawn of the Cold War / Dustin M. Wax 1

1 Ashley's Ghost: McCarthyism, Science, and Human Nature / Susan Sperling 17

2 Materialism's Free Pass: Karl Wittfogel, McCarthyism, and the "Bureaucratization of Guilt" / David H. Price 37

3 American Colonialism at the Dawn of the Cold War / Marc Pinkoski 62

4 In the Name of Science: The Cold War and the Direction of Scientific Pursuits / Frank A. Salamone 89

5 Peasants on Our Minds: Anthropology, the Cold War, and the Myth of Peasant Conservatism / Eric B. Ross 108

6 Organizing Anthropology: Sol Tax and the Professionalization of Anthropology / Dustin M. Wax 133

7 Columbia University and the Mundial Upheaval Society: A Study in Academic Networking / William Peace 143

8 Afterword: Reconceptualizing Anthropology's Historiography / Robert L.A. Hancock 166.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780745325873

0745325874

0745325866

9780745325866

OCLC:

173499179