These pioneers in the field of anthropology have made huge contributions to our understanding of human culture and behaviour, and their work is still studied and admired today. In this section, we will be taking a look at some of the most influential anthropologists who have ever worked in the field and exploring the impact they made on the field of anthropology.
Franz Boas helped to establish anthropology as a legitimate academic discipline. He was the first person to teach an anthropology course in the United States, and he also published many influential books and articles on the subject.
Bronislaw Malinowski was a Polish-born anthropologist who pioneered participant observation as an ethnographic method.
Emile Durkheim was a ground-breaking thinker who made significant contributions to both sociology and anthropology. His work is still studied and debated by scholars around the world.
Over the course of his career, Sahlins made a number of significant contributions to anthropology, including his work on the concept of culture, the nature of human sociality, and the history of anthropological thought.
Mahmood has been credited with bringing a critical perspective to the study of Islam. Her work has also helped to challenge dominant narratives about the role of religion in society.
Claude Lévi-Strauss is considered the father of structural anthropology, a field which combines the methods and theories of anthropology with those of linguistics and psychoanalysis. His book Structuralism and Ecology is a seminal work in the development of this school of thought.