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Stranger and Friend: The Way of an Anthropologist
The Way of an AnthropologistPowdermaker looks back upon a career in anthropology, including her travels to the Pacific islands, the American South during segregation, and Hollywood. An occasionally humorous and insightful look into what makes socities both similar and unique.
306 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1966
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Hortense Powdermaker
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 23, 2017
"how I done it"
Compared to the number of ethnographies and serious studies of cultural interest that exist in the world, the number of books on anthropological methodology are few. Certain books on "participant observation"---the classic method of anthropologists (and some sociologists as well)---can be found in libraries, but works on the experience and thought processes of anthropologists in the field are far less common. Even 'how-to-do-it' courses for budding anthropologists are found only rarely. Anthropological field work remains a kind of "vision quest", similar to those embarked upon by Native American youths in the old days. The anthropologist is expected to leave the campus and library, journey to another society, immerse him/herself in its culture, and come back with fresh insights. It is a kind of sink-or-swim situation and resembles initiation rites more than a little. An anthropologist who has not done field work, who has not undergone this ritual, cannot really be called an anthropologist.
Hortense Powdermaker was one of the earliest women to do field work. A student of the famous Malinowski in Britain, she travelled in the 1920s to the Melanesian island of New Ireland, now part of Papua New Guinea, to study a remote village. In those days, anthropologists specialized in describing "whole cultures", the more isolated the better, rather than focussing on a specific problem or question. Later, in the `30s, she conducted research in and around Indianola, Mississippi---an extremely delicate operation, given the rigid segregation then in force. She went on to study Hollywood and then the influence of media among Africans in Zambia's Copper Belt. She taught all her life and passed away at age 73 in 1970. After reading STRANGER AND FRIEND, I deeply regretted not having had the chance to meet her, because she impressed me strongly as a most decent, open, intelligent human being.
This book should be required reading for every young anthropologist heading for field work. The problems of culture shock, the difficulties of participating in local life as well as looking on it with a detached eye, entry problems, how to keep notes, when to do a survey and when not to, how to weave your way through or around local factions or rivals contesting the same turf, and the question of questioning your own perceptions---all these and many more issues are discussed in a very readable, interesting style. Even if the world has changed, gotten so globalized, her work is still of importance. What comes through very strongly in Powdermaker's work is her feeling for common humanity. She could empathize with anyone, anywhere and perhaps become friends with them even if, for them, she was a stranger from a strange land. At a time when most Westerners saw Pacific islanders as mere "natives", she could live, eat and dance with them, count a few as friends. At a time when most white Americans saw "Negroes" as "the other" and usually an "inferior other" at that, she worked, ate, and socialized with them without difficulty. Nowadays this presents no problem, but in the 1930s, she could have been taking her life in her hands. She was a woman with guts, and a belief in the equality of Man at a time when it was rare. I admired her no end, and thought that her honest portrayal of how she did her research was well worth 5 stars.
Compared to the number of ethnographies and serious studies of cultural interest that exist in the world, the number of books on anthropological methodology are few. Certain books on "participant observation"---the classic method of anthropologists (and some sociologists as well)---can be found in libraries, but works on the experience and thought processes of anthropologists in the field are far less common. Even 'how-to-do-it' courses for budding anthropologists are found only rarely. Anthropological field work remains a kind of "vision quest", similar to those embarked upon by Native American youths in the old days. The anthropologist is expected to leave the campus and library, journey to another society, immerse him/herself in its culture, and come back with fresh insights. It is a kind of sink-or-swim situation and resembles initiation rites more than a little. An anthropologist who has not done field work, who has not undergone this ritual, cannot really be called an anthropologist.
Hortense Powdermaker was one of the earliest women to do field work. A student of the famous Malinowski in Britain, she travelled in the 1920s to the Melanesian island of New Ireland, now part of Papua New Guinea, to study a remote village. In those days, anthropologists specialized in describing "whole cultures", the more isolated the better, rather than focussing on a specific problem or question. Later, in the `30s, she conducted research in and around Indianola, Mississippi---an extremely delicate operation, given the rigid segregation then in force. She went on to study Hollywood and then the influence of media among Africans in Zambia's Copper Belt. She taught all her life and passed away at age 73 in 1970. After reading STRANGER AND FRIEND, I deeply regretted not having had the chance to meet her, because she impressed me strongly as a most decent, open, intelligent human being.
This book should be required reading for every young anthropologist heading for field work. The problems of culture shock, the difficulties of participating in local life as well as looking on it with a detached eye, entry problems, how to keep notes, when to do a survey and when not to, how to weave your way through or around local factions or rivals contesting the same turf, and the question of questioning your own perceptions---all these and many more issues are discussed in a very readable, interesting style. Even if the world has changed, gotten so globalized, her work is still of importance. What comes through very strongly in Powdermaker's work is her feeling for common humanity. She could empathize with anyone, anywhere and perhaps become friends with them even if, for them, she was a stranger from a strange land. At a time when most Westerners saw Pacific islanders as mere "natives", she could live, eat and dance with them, count a few as friends. At a time when most white Americans saw "Negroes" as "the other" and usually an "inferior other" at that, she worked, ate, and socialized with them without difficulty. Nowadays this presents no problem, but in the 1930s, she could have been taking her life in her hands. She was a woman with guts, and a belief in the equality of Man at a time when it was rare. I admired her no end, and thought that her honest portrayal of how she did her research was well worth 5 stars.
June 22, 2017
If you are about to embark on fieldwork *read this book*. It is a down-to-earth recollection of Hortense Powdermakers experiences at four different ventures into the field: Lesu (a "Melanesian society"), Mississippi in the 1930's, Hollywood in the 1940s, and "The Copperbelt" in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in the 1950's. Her clear stance about her role as a "stranger and friend" will be refreshing to anyone wondering about their positionality as a fieldworker.
December 20, 2017
Fascinating, and reads surprisingly well by contemporary standards. Wish she had acknowledged a little bit more how whiteness/white privileged shaped some of the situations (I.e. ability to move between different social hierarchies). Particularly enjoyed the reflection at the end about humanism and science (pertinent to sociologists as well).
December 24, 2020
This is a fun read and interesting to find out what an anthropologist went through back in the day.
March 1, 2024
Had to read for class but actually very much enjoyed
June 9, 2009
Surprisingly interesting. This anthropologist's retelling of her fieldwork in completely varied locales and cultures speaks a lot to the experience of jumping into a cultural environment very different from your own. The most intriguing study was of a Deep South community before Civil Rights (and not, as many might guess, her study of Hollywood). I wish I had her ability to so be so thoroughly absorbed into a new group of people.
July 29, 2012
I read this after reading After Freedom-her study done in Mississippi. This is a fascinating memoir of a very strong and courageous woman. It was very daring to live alone on an isolated Pacific Island, but actually even more daring to do her study in the American South and flout many of the social conventions while doing her study.
March 24, 2008
Powdermaker rocks my socks! This book follows the life of an amazing anthropologist.
November 30, 2016
A gorgeous reflective overview of a field worker's career.
Things they used to keep quiet about in the classroom, personal details, the insider's view of the 20th century anthropology.
Things they used to keep quiet about in the classroom, personal details, the insider's view of the 20th century anthropology.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews