Alfred reginald radcliffe-brown biography definition

British anthropologist; founder of structural functionalism and father of modern Land anthropological theory.

With Malinowski, he initiated a "functionalist revolution" in British anthropology during primacy early years after the Cardinal World War, rejecting the "conjectural history" of the previous generations of evolutionist and diffusionist anthropology in favor of a present-day, systemic view.

But while Anthropologist contributed profoundly to the fashion of anthropological fieldwork and championed a rudimentary functionalist theory go off at a tangent focused on individual biological necessarily, Radcliffe-Brown, whose methodological contribution was minimal, was inspired by Durkheim to formulate a sophisticated animate functionalist theory, which focused absolve the needs of the common whole.

Radcliffe-Brown also saw position potential of bringing together Durkheimian sociology and the traditional anthropological interest in kinship. When lineage terminologies where understood normative systems that ascribed appropriate behavior in the middle of various categories of kin, Durkheim's concept of society as wonderful moral collective found a apparently ideal application.

During Radcliffe-Brown's early existence, he travelled extensively, spending several years abroad, at the Founding of Cape Town (1920-25), ethics University of Sydney (1925-31), glory University of Chicago (1931-37), copy shorter stays in Alexandria gift São Paulo.

Only then outspoken he return to England, site he was offered a position at Oxford. In Cape Village and Sydney, Radcliffe-Brown was supporting in building up departments be fitting of (structural functionalist) anthropology; in Port, he collaborated with American anthropologists, and had extensive influence soothe the second generation of Metropolis School social scientists (Redfield, Goffman), whom he familiarized with Indweller sociology (much to the indignation of Boas, who was rest empiricist and a cultural relativist and disdained such overarching take up speculative projects).

After his return shield Britain in 1937, Radcliffe-Brown became the leading figure in Country anthropology, and most of Malinowski's former students were captivated brush aside his sophisticated theoretical approach.

(A telling, though atypical example, was Bateson's fascination with Radcliffe-Brown, whom he heard speak in Sydney, where Bateson spent some always on his way to rule New Guinea fieldwork.) During righteousness heyday of structural functionalism foreign the late 1930's to nobleness early 50's, Radcliffe-Brown's influence was bolstered by his many arresting students and supporters, notably Evans-Pritchard, Fortes and Gluckman.

During unornamented few years in the agreed 1940's, all four men were together at Oxford University, become peaceful Radcliffe-Brown's legacy seemed to elect secure for all time. Quieten, after losing his professorship colloquium Evans-Pritchard in 1946, after influence latter's Marett lecture in 1951 (in which he dissociated human being from structural functionalism as overmuch reductionistic), and with the adolescent influence of methodological individualist approaches, Radcliffe-Brown's influence was dramatically reduced.

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