Born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on October 9, 1913. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. Foster taught at Berkeley for 26 years as a Professor of Anthropology focusing on Mexico. He remains at Berkeley as Professor Emeritus still today.
His research in 1940 and 1941 focused on the Sierra Popoluca of Veracruz Mexico, and it focused on their economy, a theme which he would visit many times during his career. Foster taught for a few brief years at Syracuse University, and then at UCLA. He then was given the chance to be the representative of the Smithsonian Institution’s Institute of Social Anthropology to the Natural School of Anthropology and History in Mexico City. This honor gave Foster the opportunity to do much fieldwork from 1944 to1946 in Tzintzuntzan, Michoacan, Mexico. This was the basis for Foster’s long-term field research project.
During the early 1950’s, Foster compared the Spanish peasant life with the Latin American peasant life. Foster found that there were many links between 16th century Spanish culture and 20th century Latin American culture. Foster defined these links in terms of "conquest culture," and "cultural crystallization."
In 1958, Foster once again visited Tzintzutzan, Mexico where he focused on the economic, demographic, social and cultural change. This study took such a huge part of Foster’s career that he visited Tzintzutzan every year from 1958 to 1990.
This research resulted in many significant contributions to the understanding of peasant life. His articles about the "dyadic contract" were especially significant, as well as "the image of limited good" and "hot-cold" theories of illness.
Foster's developments, although sometimes controversial, were models for accounting problems facing villagers, especially in a system of rapid and instrumental change (often permanent). Foster was a vital leader in the development of applied anthropology in the United States as well as Latin America. He also carried out important research in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Africa. Foster's publications on traditional cultures and the impact of technological change on applied anthropology are still some of the most widely read studies in his field.
Later on in Foster’s career, he devoted most of his time to research in the growing field of Medical Anthropology and Pubic Health. Foster’s nearly 300 publications and his influence on the development of anthropology and the social sciences around the world has been extraordinary. For his work, Foster was honored with election to the National Academy of Science. He also received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Anthropological Association (which he also served as President), and he also received the Malinowski Award by the Society for Applied Anthropology.
Written by: Students in an Introduction to Anthropology Class, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minnesota 2000