Women Anthropologists: A Biographical Dictionary

'œA welcome resource and reference biographical dictionary that took five years to produce and is aimed at both graduate and undergraduate students in anthropology, history, and sociology. Each chapter is a brief autobiography that portrays the professional and personal lives--the triumphs and tribulations--of the brave, committed, first- and second-generation pioneers. The predominance of women in anthropology is impressive. They conducted research, published, bore heavy teaching loads, and reaped poor remunerations. However, it was not enough to demonstrate intellectual merit; gender determined appointment to academic positions. For example, Alfred Tozzer told Radcliffe students in 1939 that if they wanted to be anthropologists they had better have independent means because they will never get a job; the evidence from this volume vindicates Tozzer. Anthropology was a middle-class enterprise; perhaps that explains why in the 58 entries, only one subject is a Native American and four are Afro-American. The list is predominantly American and includes both widely known and less known anthropologists.'' ChoiceAisha Khan is the author of 'Women Anthropologists: A Biographical Dictionary', published 1988 under ISBN 9780313244148 and ISBN 0313244146.