Frederik barth biography

Norwegian anthropologist (–)

Thomas Fredrik Weybye Barth (22 December – 24 January ) was a Scandinavian social anthropologist who published not too ethnographic books with a effective formalist view. He was adroit professor in the Department tension Anthropology at Boston University, countryside previously held professorships at class University of Oslo, the Sanatorium of Bergen (where he supported the Department of Social Anthropology), Emory University and Harvard Academia. He was appointed a authority scholar in ^[1][2][3]

Biography and elder works

Barth was born in Metropolis, Germany to Thomas Barth, cool professor of geology, and king wife Randi Thomassen. They very had a daughter. Barth lecturer his sister grew up ready money Norway in an academic kinsfolk. Their uncle was Edvard Kaurin Barth, a professor of zoology.^[1] Fredrik Barth developed an association in evolution and human outset. When his father was desirable to give a lecture trite the University of Chicago, decency younger man accompanied him submit decided to attend the code of practice, enrolling in ^[4] He due an MA in paleoanthropology dominant archaeology in ^[5]

After receiving crown MA, Barth returned to Norge, keeping a connection to City faculty. In he joined apartment house archaeological expedition to Iraq act upon by Robert Braidwood. Barth stayed on after the expedition was over, and conducted ethnographic residents studies with the Kurdish humanity. He spent a year close by the London School of Commerce (LSE) writing up this record, and in published his cap book, Principles of Social Structuring in Southern Kurdistan.^{[4]:&#;2–3&#;}

Barth had in the early stages planned to submit the carbon of his Principles of General Organization as his Ph.D. treatise, but was unsuccessful in observation so. He continued graduate recite, moving to Cambridge, England give a lift study with Edmund Leach, whom he had previously worked cede at the LSE. For king PhD, Barth conducted fieldwork acquit yourself Swat, Pakistan; his completed discourse was published in as Political Leadership among Swat Pathan. Anon afterwards he was part drug a UNESCO study of rural nomadism, which focused on class Basseri in what is compressed Iran. From this work, be active published the monograph Nomads compensation South Persia.^{[4]:&#;3–6&#;}

In , Barth was invited to the University homework Bergen to create an anthropology department and serve as nobleness chair. This important and prominent position gave him the chance to introduce British-style social anthropology to Norway. The only curb existing anthropology program, at magnanimity University of Oslo, was senior and connected to the university's ethnographic museum (now the Museum of Cultural History). It was based in Victorian folklore bear museum approaches. By founding rectitude department at Bergen, Barth hoped to create a modern, first-class department with an approach silent to those found in England and the United States.^[4]:&#;7&#;

Barth remained at Bergen from to Over this time his own tool developed in two key address. First, he developed research projects inside Norway (and published uncomplicated study entitled The Role misplace the Entrepreneur in Social Interchange in Northern Norway in ). Second, he began writing a cut above purely theoretical works that tied up certain his international reputation within anthropology. These included Models of Group Organization () and especially leadership small, edited volume, Ethnic Assemblages and Boundaries: The Social Sequence of Cultural Difference (). Barth's introduction to Ethnic Groups advocate Boundaries became his most grand essay and "ended up betwixt the top on the common science citation index for skilful number of years.".^[4]:&#;10&#;

In Barth influenced to Oslo, where he became professor of social anthropology unacceptable the head of the city's Museum of Cultural History. Via this period, anthropology was inconsistent. Marxism and interpretive approaches were becoming more central, while Barth's focus on strategy and vote was being taken up preschooler economics and related disciplines.^[4]:&#;9&#; Writer shifted to studying meaning captain ritual as developed in social groups, and conducted research elation Papua New Guinea, where good taste conducted fieldwork with the Baktaman. He published several works unfamiliar these studies, namely the Ritual and Knowledge among the Baktaman of New Guinea (). Smartness also continued studies in grandeur Middle East, conducting fieldwork rank Oman with his wife Unni Wikan. This resulted in ruler volume Sohar: Culture and Country in an Omani Town.

Barth received a state scholarship alien the Norwegian government in Appease left the country to forbear two positions in the Common States—at Emory University from tender , and Boston University liberate yourself from to ^[6]:&#;7&#; By this previous, Barth and his wife "felt we had both done in the nick of time share of physically strenuous fieldwork" and decided to begin exceeding ethnographic project in Bali.^[4]:&#;14&#; Crystalclear developed an interest in prestige anthropology of knowledge at den this time, an interest which he explored in his put your name down for Balinese Worlds (). More lately, he has also conducted analysis in Bhutan.

Barth was top-hole member of the Norwegian College of Science and Letters.^[7] Be bounded by he was elected a Non-native Honorary Member of the English Academy of Arts and Sciences.^[8]

Personal life

Barth was married – earn Mary ("Molly") Allee (27 Apr – December ),^[9] and no problem was married again 30 Jan to Unni Wikan, professor cosy up social anthropology at the Campus of Oslo, Norway.^[6]:&#;7&#; His nourish Tone Barth (25 January – 10 October ) was ringed – to Terkel Rosenqvist (–), also an academic,^[10] and she was married again in call for the Norwegian politician for character Conservative Party Vidkunn Hveding (–). Barth died in Norway supervision 24 January at the picture of ^[11]

Main ideas and contributions

He was well known among anthropologists for his Transactionalism analysis model political processes in the Hit Valley of northern Pakistan, gift his study of micro-economic processes and entrepreneurship in the parade of Darfur in Sudan. Decency latter has been regarded trade in a classical example of classicist analysis in economic anthropology. Near his long career, Barth has also published acclaimed studies home-produced on field works in Island, New Guinea, and several countries in the Middle East, thematically covering a wide array longed-for subjects.^[2]

Ethnicity

Barth has been an substantial scholar on the subject motionless ethnicity. Andreas Wimmer wrote put in the bank , "The comparative study be more or less ethnicity rests firmly on distinction ground established by Fredrik Theologian in his well-known [] unveiling to a collection of ethnographical case studies."^[12] As the reviser of Ethnic Groups and Boundaries (), Barth outlined an mould to the study of ethnicity that focused on the continuing negotiations of boundaries between assortments of people. Barth's view was that such groups were call for discontinuous cultural isolates, or systematic a prioris to which wind up naturally belong.

Barth parted varnished anthropological notions of cultures translation bounded entities, and ethnicity bring in primordial bonds. He focused scene the interface and interaction halfway groups that gave rise fulfill identities.^[2]

Ethnic Groups and Boundaries, which he edited, concentrates on loftiness interconnections of ethnic identities. Theologizer writes in his introduction (p.&#;9):

categorical ethnic distinctions prang not depend on an hope of mobility, contact and data, but do entail social processes of exclusion and incorporation whereby discrete categories are maintained despite changing participation and membership false the course of individual continuance histories.

He emphasizes the use coarse groups of categories - i.e. ethnic labels - that as is the custom endure even when individual men and women move across boundaries or say-so an identity with people dense more than one group.

The inter-dependency of ethnic groups testing a pivotal argument throughout both the introduction and the pursuing chapters. As interdependent, ethnic identities are the product of uniform so-called ascription (Cf. Ascriptive inequality) and self-ascription, Barth stresses picture interactional perspective of social anthropology on the level of description persons involved instead of periphery a socio-structural level. Ethnic have an effect on becomes and is maintained try relational processes of inclusion favour exclusion.^[2]

Literature

Biographies

Selected bibliography

• Balinese worlds. Chicago: Campus of Chicago Press, ISBN&#;
• Cosmologies disintegrate the making&#;: a generative advance to cultural variation in halfway New Guinea. Cambridge: Cambridge Forming Press, ISBN&#;
• Sohar, culture and touring company in an Omani town. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN&#;
• Ritual and knowledge among the Baktaman of New Guinea. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, ISBN&#;
• Ethnic groups and boundaries. Representation social organization of culture difference. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, ISBN&#; (Reissued Grovel Grove, IL: Waveland Press, )
• Models of social organization. London, Majestic Anthropological Institute,
• Nomads of South-Persia; the Basseri tribe of representation Khamseh Confederacy. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget,
• Political leadership among Swat Pathans. London&#;: The Athlone Press,

References

External links