Alexander GoldenweiserBorn 29 Jan 1880; died 6 Jul 1940 at age 60.Alexander (Alexandrovich) Goldenweiser was an Russian-American anthropologist whose analyses of cultural questions ranged widely, encompassing intellectual movements in psychology and psychoanalysis. In particular, he suggested that cultural diffusion is not a mechanical process but, rather, depends in part on the receptiveness of cultures to proffered traits. Goldenweiser did very little field work in anthropology - less than ten months on six trips to the Iroquois on the Grand River reservation in Ontario (1911-13) - and is said to have disliked it. He was, however, a stimulating and versatile popular lecturer. Theory and methodology were his major concern, with folk psychology, religion and magic, and social organization in the forefront of his topical interests. |
