The eminent University of Chicago anthropologist Marshall Sahlins resigned from the National Academy of Sciences on Friday, citing his objections to its military partnerships and to its electing as a member Napoleon Chagnon, a long-controversial anthropologist who is back in the news thanks to the publication of his new book, Noble Savages.
Meanwhile, in anthropology, shit is going down…
From Sahlins:
“By the evidence of his own writings as well as the testimony of others, including Amazonian peoples and professional scholars of the region, Chagnon has done serious harm to the indigenous communities among whom he did research,” Sahlins said. By way of example, he cited his own Washington Post review of the 2000 book Darkness in El Dorado, the source of many of the accusations against Chagnon that are still hotly disputed among anthropologists.
“At the same time,” Sahlins added, “[Chagnon’s] ‘scientific’ claims about human evolution and the genetic selection for male violence … have proven to be shallow and baseless, much to the discredit of the anthropological discipline. At best, his election to the NAS was a large moral and intellectual blunder on the part of members of the Academy.”
(via lifeaquatic)
Marshall Sahlins is a good dude. Can someone please explain to me why anyone still takes Napoleon Chagnon seriously? Please tell me it isn’t anthropologists bolstering his decrepit embarssment of a career.
(via tanacetum-vulgare)