Alfred Metraux, Paris, France,
Late 1940's |
Dr. Alfred
Metraux
My father, Dr. Alfred Metraux
(1902-1963), was a dedicated anthropologist and
humanitarian who brought the brilliance of South
American Indian
cultures to light, solved the mysteries of Easter
Island, taught the
world about Voodoo,
and defined the United Nations' stand against racism.
Below you will find more
information about Alfred including a detailed obituary,
bibliography, selected articles from and about
Dr. Metraux, and my own eulogy delivered
on the centennial of his birth (2002).
I also invite you
to attend a
special exhibition at the Museum of Natural History
at the Smithsonian, "Alfred Metraux:
From Fieldwork to Human Rights - The Itinerary
of a 20th-Century
Ethnographer" starting in
late 2006. The exhibition will later move to
Paris.
"Social anthropology
depends on the rigor of first-hand observations.
Only if it fulfulls this task can it become the
science of society."
Alfred Metraux, De la methode en ethnographie, 1925
If you would like more information
about my father, please send me a message via the
feedback form. |
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Alfred Metraux 1902-1963), often described as "an ethnographer's
ethnographer," was one of the most significant anthropologists
and human rights leaders of the twentieth century. He published
landmark studies of South American Indians including the Incas,
Haitian voodoo and the ancient cultures of Easter Island. He
participated in the framing of the United Nations Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and later as director of the Dept. of Social
Sciences at UNESCO, he presided over a series of studies which
resulted in several publications demonstrating the absence of
scientific foundation to theories of racial superiority. The
1951 UNESCO Statement on the Nature of Race and Race Differences
enshrined these findings. He taught at a number institutions
including the Sorbonne, Yale and the University of California
at Berkeley. His books include Voodoo, The History of the Incas
and Easter Island.
For more information on Alfred Metraux please see the following
documents (in PDF format)
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