Mary Catherine Bateson is a renowned writer and anthropologist. She is not only well known in the United States, but also in Iran where she has been the Dean of Students. She was born in New York City in 1939. She had one child in 1969 after being married in 1960. She is also the daughter of two very important anthropologists, Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson. She received her education from two main sources, Radcliffe College and Harvard University.
Mary Bateson was the Clarence J. Robinson Professor of Anthropology and English at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia and is now Professor Emerita. Since 2006, she has been working with the Center on Aging and Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College as a visiting scholar. Mary Bateson also serves the Lifelong Access Libraries Initiative of the Americans for Libraries Council as a special consultant. Other teaching and research she has done includes locations such as Harvard University, Northeastern University, Damavand College (Tehran), Ateneo de Manila University, Brandeis University, Amherst College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Spelman College. She has been the Dean of Social Studies and Humanities at the University of Northern Iran and the Dean of Faculty at Amherst College.
Mary Bateson offers words of wisdom for all. "Sharing is sometimes more demanding than giving" (Quotes to Inspire You) would be one example of how she offers such a kind and intelligent mind to the world of anthropology. Another bit of her words of wisdom, "The need to sustain human growth should be a matter of concern for the entire society, even more fundamental than the problem of sustaining productivity," (Composing a Life) shows her knowledge that there is much more to be learned in the world and that not only people with Ph.D.'s, but everyone should have concern for how we continue to grow and change. Between the 1964 and 1994, Mary Catherine Bateson has written over 41 articles and books on various topics. She has written many more since then. Some of her publications are:
With a Daughter's Eye: A Memoir of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson (1985)
Angel's Fear: Towards an Epistemology of the Sacred (1987) with her father, Gregory Bateson
Peripheral Visions: Learning Along the Way (1995)
Composing a Life (2001)
Bateson, M Biography, http://www.gmu.edu/robinson/cbbib.html, (March, 2000)
Former link, http://www.colby.edu/communications/releases/history/bateson.html, (March, 2000)
Mary Catherine Bateson Website, http://marycatherinebateson.com/, (March, 2000)
Former link, http://www.cybernation.com/victory/index.php, (March, 2000)
Former link, http://www.pkal.org/wisdom/12_14_98.html, (March 2000)
Written By: Kristi Gallagher