Born in Chicago in 1904, Harry Hoijer had his eye on hard work and success. Like many other college students he worked his way through college at low income to minimum wage jobs (AA, 105). He attended the University of Chicago studying engineering and mathematics. Not yet sure what kind of career lie ahead of him, he took some advice from his roommate senior year. That advice was to apply to graduate school and study anthropology (AA, 105). Little did Hoijer know that anthropology would be a fetish he would thrive on for the rest of his life. He received his Masters in 1929 and his Ph.D. two years later. Hoijer began teaching anthropology classes at the University of Chicago on a temporary basis. There he met Edward Sapir who inspired him and helped him cultivate an interest in linguistics (AA, 105).
Hoijer began developing his own theories on the human species. According to American Anthropologist he viewed homo sapiens as, “A single polygenetic species in which each individual processes a unique cluster of potentialities whose development is fostered, shaped or inhibited by his particular cultural environment and idiosyncratic personal experience,” (105, 106). He believed each individual is special. Racism was an issue that Hoijer felt strongly about. A favorite saying of his was, “The [blank] are people.” (American Anthropologist, pg 106). He was trying to make the point that we are all humans developing from the same line of ancestors so we should treat each other like we are brothers. In his book Language in Culture Hoijer says, “Language is a guide to “social reality.”….The fact of the matter is the “real world” is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group,” (Hoijer, 92). Some times it is hard to communicate exactly what we mean because language can be so limited.
Soon Hoijer received an offer at the University of California at Los Angeles. He continued teaching anthropology as well as in the Army Specialized Training Programs (AA, 106). Harry spent years on continuous committees for boards such as Chairman of the Linguistics Program, committee on committees, library committee, faculty welfare, executive of the school of business administration, the state wide advisory committee of the institute of industrial relations and many more.
All of Harry Hoijer’s hard work paid off. In 1957 he received the honor of “Outstanding Faculty Member,” by his peers and students. One year later he was awarded the Faculty Research Lecturer award which was a very high honor for the institute. Hoijer worked his way up the ladder to become President of the American Anthropological Association in 1958 and the President of the Linguistic Society of America in 1959. He attended critically significant conferences such as the Wenner-Gren Conference on Anthropology Today, the University of Michigan Symposium on Language and Culture, and the University of Chicago-Ford Foundation Conference on Ethno-Linguistics. He had the honor of associate editor of the International Journal of American Linguistics and American Anthropologist form time to time. Hoijer spent the last part of his career as Chairman of the committee on Research in American Indian Languages. He wrote a series of different works about linguistics and the Athapascans (AA, 107).
Hoijer died at the age of 71. He suffered from a bad hip and a disease that affected his nervous system. He was cremated and his ashes were strewn into the Pacific Ocean. He survived by his wife Dorothy Jared along with three children Charlotte, Peter, and Susan.
References:
American Anthropologist: New Series, Vol. 79, No. 1, p. 105-108. Obituaries; Harry Hoijer, 1904-1976.
Hoijer, Harry. Language in Culture. Chicago, Illinois. The University of Chicago Press, 1954.
Written by: Students in an Introduction to Anthropology Class, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minnesota 2002