Franz Boas

"My chief idea in this is that these tribes mist be studied in relation to one another and that only someone who understands the East will be able to thoroughly understand the West".(Muller-Willi p.97). Words written by a man who is now regarded as being the founder of modern American anthropology, Franz Boas. The views of culture expressed by Boas throughout his anthropological career have shaped how his generation and possibly all generations after …

…work for future anthropologists many years ago, the field today would look much different, much would our view of other cultures and traditions. Given all Boas has done, I am surprised I had never heard of him until this project, and feel he should be just as much of a household name as the likes of Freud, or Darwin, for he has had just as much of an impact on the common man as anyone.