An Anthropological Biography: Andrzej Waligórski Cover Image

Biografia antropologiczna - Andrzej Waligórski
An Anthropological Biography: Andrzej Waligórski

Author(s): Grażyna Kubica
Subject(s): Cultural Essay, Political Essay, Societal Essay
Published by: Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: Andrzej Waligorski; Bronislaw Malinowski; biographical research; colonialism; Luo; history of anthropology.

Summary/Abstract: The article tackles methodological problems connected with biographical research on anthropologists carried out by other anthropologists. The author takes the perspective of Michael Herzfeld and his concept of "anthropologizing history," i.e., giving voice to those who are deprived of it. Another source of inspiration is George Stocking's idea of the contextualized history of the discipline seen as the background of contemporary assumptions and controversies. Andrzej Waligorski's (1908-1974) biography is analyzed from various perspectives: the liberal and intellectual background of Cracow; the influence of Bronislaw Malinowski and of British anthropology; Waligorski's fieldwork in Kenya and colonialism; his lectureship at the Jagiellonian University and, finally, the marginalization of both the person of Waligorski and the discipline of anthropology.

  • Issue Year: 2006
  • Issue No: 29
  • Page Range: 29-32
  • Page Count: 4
  • Language: Polish