Transcript Kein Folientitel - University of Oxford

Alfred Reginald
Radcliffe-Brown
(1881 Birmingham -1955 London)
His Understanding and Views of
Social Anthropology:
- Social anthropology is the theoretical natural science of human
society.
- One may call it ’comparative sociology’.
- from 1910 onwards, sociological approach (Durkheim, Steinmetz,
Westermarck)
- The task of the anthropologist is simply to provide scientific
appraisal of the situation which the administrator faces, not to
advocate policies.
- sudden move a way from Rivers and Hadon ( regarded genealogies
of native by Rivers as failure)
Criticism on RB’s
Functional Structuralism
• Functional structuralism
His Life
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1904: became River’s first pupil in anthropology
at Cambridge
1906-08: Andaman Islands
1909-10: Lectures at Cambridge, advocating Durkheim’s views
1910-12: Australian aborigines: ‘survey and slavage ethnography’,
research of traditional marriage systems (Rivers, Seligmann) with Grant
Watson, Mrs Daisy Bates, Olsen.
1914: school-master in Sydney
1916-19: Director of Education in the Kingdom of Tonga
1921: Established Dept. of Anthropology and a School of African Studies
at the University of Cape Town: beginning of important publications.
1926-31: Established Dept. Of Anthropology in Sydney (unsuccessfully)
1930-31: “The Social Organisation of Australian Tribes”
1931: Chicago
• 1937-46: appointed to the first chair of social anthropology at Oxford
Influences
• By Durkheim (before Wold War I): The Elementary Forms of the
Religious Life, meanings and purpose of customs should be
analysed in their contemporary context. Theories of function of
ceremonial customs were applied mechanically by RB.
• Durkheim insisted that social facts should be treated as
objective phenomena.
• Année-School: French school of sociology by Durkheim before
WWI
• 1931, Chicago, American school of Ant.:trends: diffusionist
approach of Boas; movement towards ‘culture and personality’
studies, influenced by psychology, psychoanalysis and gestalt
theory. RB influenced Eggan, Tax and Warner
• RB was influenced by the evoluntionism of Spencer
RB Methods
• Abstract the social form in a number of societies is followed by
comparison and classification
• One should compare societies that are culturally and ethnically
related and uncover the general characteristics
• understand peculiarities by comparison with better-known
examples (Kuper 1996:51)
• Ultimate goal: to formulate generalisations about common
features in all human societies. These generalisations would
constitute social laws. (Kuper 1996:51)
The contributions of RadcliffeBrown
• introduced the intellectual discipline of French sociology
• constructed new concepts to order ethnographic material
• focus on the formal situation, rules and ritual (in opposition to
Malinowski’s interest in individual motivation and strategy)
• set an example of analytic method with his first monograph in
1922.
• divided customs into three types: 1. Techniques, 2. Rules of
behaviour, 3. Ceremonial customs (formal weeping in
Andamanese ceremonies)
• presented a remarkable synthesis of Australian social
organisation, though his models have been recast
• after WWI, RB and Mauss developed Durkheim’s sociology
• Mauss’ theory was joined by RB to the theory of Malinowskian
tradition of fieldwork. (Kuper 1996:49)
RB Publications
• A Natural Science of History: transcript of a seminar, Chicago
1937
• 1935:
• 1940:
• 1952: Structure and Function in Primitive Society