Synopses & Reviews
One of the more problematic sport spectacles in American history took place at the 1904 Worlds Fair in St. Louis, which included the third modern Olympic Games. Associated with the Games was a curious event known as Anthropology Days organized by William J. McGee and James Sullivan, at that time the leading figures in American anthropology and sports, respectively. McGee recruited Natives who were participating in the fairs ethnic displays to compete in sports events, with the “scientific” goal of measuring the physical prowess of “savages” as compared with “civilized men.” This interdisciplinary collection of essays assesses the ideas about race, imperialism, and Western civilization manifested in the 1904 Worlds Fair and Olympic Games and shows how they are still relevant.
A turning point in both the history of the Olympics and the development of modern anthropology, these games expressed the conflict between the Old World emphasis on culture and New World emphasis on utilitarianism. Marked by Franz Boass paper at the Scientific Congress, the events in St. Louis witnessed the beginning of the shift in anthropological research from nineteenth-century evolutionary racial models to the cultural relativist paradigm that is now a cornerstone of modern American anthropology. Racist pseudoscience nonetheless reappears to this day in the realm of sports.
Review
"In this edited volume, sports anthropologist Brownell leads an exploration of a forgotten moment in premodern anthropology. . . . A very successful project of intellectual history."—J. Marks, CHOICE J. Marks
Review
"The multidisciplinary approach offered by this collection succeeds in exposing the relationships between anthropology, physical culture, the Olympic movement, and imperialism in revelatory ways."—John W. Troutman, Western Historical Quarterly CHOICE
Review
"The authors provide not only a window into the history of a sporting event but also an important story about sports as a system of representation. This volume is a fine collection that recalls a past event that is still relevant to the present."—John Bloom, American Historical Review John W. Troutman - Western Historical Quarterly
Review
"Through their analyses of the 1904 Games, the authors convincingly interrogate—and connect—categories of science, sport, race, and nation at the turn of the 20th century. . . . The book will appeal to a number of audiences, including scholars interested in the histories of anthropology, museums as well as world's fairs and other forms of display, science, sport, colonialism, imperialism, and national and international movements."—Andi Johnson, Museum Anthropology Review John Bloom - American Historical Review
Review
"This is a well-conceived volume that will be of wide interest to many scholars."—Barbara Keys, Journal of American Ethnic History Andi Johnson - Museum Anthropology Review
Review
"The connection between the histories of the Olympics and anthropology provides a unique perspective on the history of sport. . . . The 1904 Anthropology Days and Olympic Games would make an excellent addition to the library of any scholar interested in the history of the Olympics or the history of anthropology."—Colleen English, International Journal of the History of Sports Barbara Keys - Journal of American Ethnic History
Review
andquot;[
American Anthropology and Company] is a solid contribution to the history of American anthropology with a salutary approach to interdisciplinarity.andquot;andmdash;Jeremy MacClancy,
Journal of the Royal Anthropological InstituteSynopsis
In
American Anthropology and Company, linguist and sociologist Stephen O. Murray explores the connections between anthropology, linguistics, sociology, psychology, and history, in broad-ranging essays on the history of anthropology and allied disciplines. On subjects ranging from Native American linguistics to the pitfalls of American, Latin American, and East Asian fieldwork, among other topics,
American Anthropology and Company presents the views of a historian of anthropology interested in the theoretical and institutional connections between disciplines that have always been in conversation with anthropology. Recurring characters include Edward Sapir, Alfred Kroeber, Robert Redfield, W. I. and Dorothy Thomas, and William Ogburn.
While histories of anthropology rarely cross disciplinary boundaries, Murray moves in essay after essay toward an examination of the institutions, theories, and social networks of scholars as never before, maintaining a healthy skepticism toward anthropologistsand#8217; views of their own methods and theories.
About the Author
Susan Brownell is a professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. She is the author of Training the Body for China: Sports in the Moral Order of the Peoples Republic and Beijings Games: What the Olympics Mean to China. Contributors: John Bale, Susan Brownell, Mark Dyreson, Henning Eichberg, Gerald R. Gems, Alexander Kitroeff, Suzuko Mousel Knott, Jonathan Marks, Christine M. OBonsawin, Nancy J. Parezo, Linda Peavy, Otto J. Schantz, and Ursula Smith.