Leslie A. White: Evolution and Revolution in Anthropology

305 Pages·2004·1.66 MB·English

by  William J. Peace

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LeslieA.White
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4 CriticalStudiesintheHistoryofAnthropology
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RegnaDarnell
7 StephenO.Murray
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LeslieA.White
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Evolution and Revolution inAnthropology
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10 William J. Peace
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UniversityofNebraskaPress
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LincolnandLondon
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1 ©2004bytheBoardofRegentsofthe
2 UniversityofNebraska
Allrightsreserved
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ManufacturedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
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AllphotographscourtesyofBeverlyCondittWhite.
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(cid:2)(cid:2)
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7 LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-Publication
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Peace,WilliamJ.,1960–
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LeslieA.White:evolutionandrevolutionin
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11 p. cm.—(Criticalstudiesinthehistoryof
anthropology)
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Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. [-4],(4)
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isbn0-8032-3681-6(cloth:alk.paper)
14 1.White,LeslieA.,1900–1975.
15 2.Anthropologists—UnitedStates—Biography. Lines:42
16 3.Socialevolution—UnitedStates—Philosophy. ———
17 4.Marxistanthropology. 5.Culture—Philosophy. * 245.30
I.Title. II.Series.
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For the Chief
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Contents
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ListofIllustrations ix
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SeriesEditors’Introduction xi
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Preface xiii
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Acknowledgments xix
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1.EarlyLifeandFormativeExperiences 1
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2.FieldworkintheSouthwest 35
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3.TheSocialistLaborPartyandSocialistEvolutionaryTheory 69
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4.EvolutionaryTheoryforAmericanAnthropologists 99 [-7],(7)
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5.AcademicandPoliticalThreats 135
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6.WhitePressesNeedlesslyOn 164
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7.PersonalTurmoilandProfessionalInfluence 208
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Illustrations
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5 Followingp.120
6 White,circa1947
7 AlvinLincolnWhite,circa1900–1905
8 HelenWhite,circa1909
9 White,Denver,Colorado,winter1917–18
10 Whiteinhisnavaluniform,1919
11 White,SantaDomingo,fall1928
12 TheOpenRoadTourGroup,SovietUnion,1929
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14 White,1959
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Series Editors’Introduction
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Biography holds a particular place in the critical history of anthropology,
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as of any other discipline.Anthropology is perhaps unique,however,in its
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long-standingprofessionalconcernwiththeimpactofcultureonpersonality,
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to use Edward Sapir’s phrase.The history of anthropology is,in this sense,
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9 an anthropological problem,with the biographer as archivist presenting an
10 ethnography of his or her subject. Each anthropologist uniquely construes
11 the traditions of a national and transnational anthropology.When the social [First Page]
12 networks that constitute the profession are approached from the point of
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13 view of a single individual,readers are encouraged to construct disciplinary
14 developmentsastheresultofstrategicdecisionsonthepartofparticipants.
15 Some biographical subjects necessarily present greater challenges than Lines:0 to 2
16 others.LeslieA.Whiteconfoundsthepatternedqualityofasingleprofessional ———
17 life because of the diversity of his interests throughout his career.William 3.0475pt
18 J. Peace documents the facets and contradictions of Leslie A.White’s life ———
19 andcareer,sketchinghismidwesternfarmupbringingandWorldWarInavy Normal Pag
20 service,andlimninginmeticulousdetailthevariegatedtangentsofhiscontacts PgEnds:TEX
21 withcolleaguesinsidetheacademyandbeyondit.
22 Whiteiswidelyrememberedwithinthedisciplineforthreeareasofspe- [-11],(1)
23 cialization:asasouthwesternethnologistintheBoasiantraditionofhisinitial
24 training at the University of Chicago with Boasians Edward Sapir and Fay-
25 CooperCole,asNorthAmerica’sprimaryproponentofarevitalizedevolu-
26 tionarytheoryand,inthelateryearsofhiscareer,asahistorianofanthropology.
27 Hispoliticalinvolvements,particularlyinhisyoungeryears,constituteaparallel
28 intellectualandactiviststrand.Veryfewreaderswillknowallofthesesides.
29 Whitelivedininterestingtimes.Likemanyofhisgenerationwithsocialist
30 leanings,hisinvolvementwiththeSocialistLaborPartywasself-defensively
31 clandestine.PeacedocumentshiswritingcareerunderthepseudonymofJohn
32 Steel,theinfluencesofhistravelstoRussia,andMcCarthy-erachallengesto
33 academic freedom.White’s unconventional views,particularly on evolution
34 andfreewill,challengedtheintegrityofacademicfreedomattheUniversity
35 ofMichiganbeforetheColdWarerupted.ThecontroversyWhite’slectures
36 andwritingspromptedenabledMichigantofaresomewhatbetterthanother
37 universitiesduringthisdarkerainAmericanhistory.
38 Although polemic invective characterized much of White’s writing,in
xii SeriesEditors’Introduction
1 personhewasverypolite,andhisprofessionalismensuredthathisacademic
2 disagreements with his colleagues were not repeated on a personal level.As
3 chairoftheDepartmentofAnthropologyattheUniversityofMichiganfor
4 25years,WhiteattemptedtoavoidtheformationofaMichiganevolutionary
5 school,despitehisowntheoreticalcommitmentstothistheory.Diversityof
6 approachwasastrengthtotheanthropologyheenvisioned.
7 White turned to the history of anthropology to lambast the Boasian tra-
8 dition as a straitjacket preventing resurgence of evolutionary theories. His
9 disciplinary history was presentist, almost incidental to his reading of the
10 present and future;it had a persuasive rather than a documentary focus.An
11 uncompletedbiographyofLewisHenryMorganexpressedWhite’scontinu-
12 ingcommitmenttoMorgan’sevolutionarylogicandpresentedanalternative
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13 futureforAmericananthropology.
14 InWhite’s mind there was no inherent contradiction between his early
15 ethnological work at several pueblos and the universalist basis of his evolu- Lines:26
16 tionarytheory.SouthwesternistsrememberWhite’sunusualabilitytoobtain ———
17 information from the most secretive of the pueblos. Although this work * 31.153
18 has raised serious ethical questions by contemporary standards,White was ———
19 respectedforhisresultsatthetime.Whiteneverrecantedasethicalstandards Normal P
20 changed in the discipline,continuing to insist that ethnographic data was a * PgEnds:P
21 legitimatepartofanthropology.
22 As a theorist,however,White preferred universal generalizations. Peace’s [-12],(2)
23 discussion of his relationships, both professional and personal, with other
24 evolutionarytheoristshelpstoframetheuniquenessofhistheoryofculture.
25 WhitedeemedJulianSteward’smultilinearevolution,withitsstrongemphasis
26 on environment, to be tainted by Boasian historical hesitations and thus
27 incoherent as a theory. He was more comfortable withV. Gordon Childe
28 and,indeed,withthearchaeologicalreadingofhistoryandtimeperspective.
29 The legacy of Leslie A. White is as complex as his career. His mate-
30 rialist models have proved very welcome to museum anthropologists and
31 archaeologists. His cultural theory served to provide theoretical alternatives
32 in the interwar and postwar years.And for many,White continues to be a
33 significantcontemporaryfigureaswellasaniconinthehistoryofAmerican
34 anthropology.
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