The unnaming of Kroeber Hall : language, memory, and Indigenous California / Andrew Garrett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Garrett, Andrew, 1961- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kroeber Hall (Berkeley, California).

Kroeber, A. L. (Alfred Louis), 1876-1960.

Kroeber, A. L.

University of California, Berkeley--History.

University of California, Berkeley.

Anthropological ethics.

Indians of North America--California--Languages.

Indians of North America.

Indians of North America--Languages.

California.

Genre:

History

Physical Description:

xix, 450 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2023]

Summary:

"In January 2021, at a time when many institutions were reevaluating fraught histories, the University of California removed anthropologist and linguist Alfred Kroeber's name from a building on its Berkeley campus. Critics accused Kroeber of racist and dehumanizing practices that harmed Indigenous people; university leaders repudiated his values. In The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall, Andrew Garrett examines Kroeber's work in the early twentieth century and his legacy today, asking how a vigorous opponent of racism and advocate for Indigenous rights in his own era became a symbol of his university's failed relationships with Native communities. Garrett argues that Kroeber's most important work has been overlooked: his collaborations with Indigenous people throughout California to record their languages and stories. The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall offers new perspectives on the early practice of anthropology and linguistics and on its significance today and in the future. Kroeber's documentation was broader and more collaborative and multifaceted than is usually recognized. As a result, the records Indigenous people created while working with him are relevant throughout California as communities revive languages, names, songs, and stories. Garrett asks readers to consider these legacies, arguing that the University of California chose to reject critical self-examination when it unnamed Kroeber Hall." -- Publisher's description.

"A balanced attempt to understand the controversy over renaming a building on the campus of UC Berkeley"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Kroeber Hall

Inventing California

Dispossession and documentation

The wellhead

Indigenous voices

Documentary legacies

Language and land

Collaborations

Native bodies

Ishi's choices

Ancestors

Indian land

Public works

Institutional elisions

Last words

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Garrett, Andrew, 1961- Unnaming of Kroeber Hall

ISBN:

9780262547093

0262547090

OCLC:

1379273505