CRITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF FRANZ BOAS' THEORY AND METHODOLOGY

The theoretical & epistemological underpinnings of Franz Boas's anthropology are reviewed, & the ways in which certain theoretical & methodological characteristics of historical particularism remain relevant to a revitalized approach to critical anthropology are discussed. The Kanti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Dialectical anthropology 1994-11, Vol.19 (2/3), p.237-253
Main Author: Hitchens, Janine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African American culture
Anthropologists
Anthropology
Boas, Franz
Cultural anthropology
Cultural relativism
Cultural studies
Cultural values
Determinism
ESSAYS
Ethnocentrism
Ethnology
Franz Boas
General studies
Historical particularism
History of ethnology
Human evolution
Kant, Immanuel
Linguistic anthropology
Methodology (Philosophical)
Normativity
Political anthropology
Racism
Social Anthropology
Social evolution
Theoretical Problems
Weber, Max
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Summary:The theoretical & epistemological underpinnings of Franz Boas's anthropology are reviewed, & the ways in which certain theoretical & methodological characteristics of historical particularism remain relevant to a revitalized approach to critical anthropology are discussed. The Kantian foundations of Boas's approach are explored, & it is shown that Boas's perspective on human action is in many ways similar to Max Weber's theory of action. It is argued that the basic historical particularist approach applied to the contemporary situation should take into account politics, economics, & the distribution of power on a global scale; & that historical particularism can serve as the basis for a renewed critical anthropology. W. Howard
ISSN:0304-4092
1573-0786