Gods of the Upper Air
How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century
by:
Charles King
in:
Anthropology
Summary:
The book chronicles the pioneering work of Franz Boas and his students, including Margaret Mead and Zora Neale Hurston, as they challenged the scientific racism and sexism of their time by demonstrating the cultural basis of human behavior. It explores their revolutionary insights into issues of race, sexuality, and gender, which laid the groundwork for modern anthropology and social science.
Key points:
1. Cultural Relativism: "Gods of the Upper Air" discusses how Franz Boas and his students like Margaret Mead introduced cultural relativism, the idea that we should understand people's beliefs and actions within their own cultural context, challenging the view that Western culture is superior.
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