Julian Steward
1902 - 1972
Julian Steward was born on January 31, 1902 in
Washington, D.C. Stewards' family were Christian Scientists and, therefore, did
not necessarily encourage the study of the sciences in the home. At age 16,
young Julian was sent to a preparatory school near Owens Valley, California. It
was there, at Deep Springs Preparatory School, that Steward's interest in the
sciences was sparked. It was at this time that Steward met the
Shoshoni and
Northern Paiute
Indians and acquired a lifelong attachment to them and to the West.
Steward attended the University of
California at Berkeley as a college freshman where he was first exposed to
the writings of Alfred Kroeber and Robert Lowie. This exposure influenced the
rest of his life. He then transferred to Cornell University where he majored in
Zoology and Biology. Steward graduated from Cornell in 1925 and went back to
Berkeley to pursue graduate work. Steward received his Ph. D. degree in
Anthropology in 1929 with a thesis entitled The Ceremonial Buffoon of the
American Indian, a Study of Ritualized Clowning and Role Reversals.
Anthropology was a young discipline at the time; the department included
Alfred Kroeber and
Robert Lowie, both of whom had been
students of Franz Boas. The influence of
Kroeber while attending Berkeley was one of holistic orientation. His concern
to see humankind through the biological, cultural, historical and linguistic
viewpoints had a tantamount impact on the discipline. Steward's drive was to
understand people from every possible aspect of their lives.
Steward accepted his first academic position at the
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor where
he taught for two years. As a teacher, Steward crammed his lectures with
empirical detail. He was organized, purposeful and consistent. His philosophy
came from a quote of his "There are no theories unless based upon fact but
facts exist only within the context of a theory." Steward was a tall man with
graying hair and mustache that matched his gray tweeds. He was serious,
intense, reserved and committed to his work. His look matched his position as a
professor.
Timeline:
1928 Academic position at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, 2
years.
1930 University of Utah, founded a program of teaching and
research.
1933-34 Returned to Berkeley as a Lecturer from 1933-34.
1934-35 Studyied the Shoshoni full time, doing a complete analysis of
their economy, ecology and social organization.
1935 Joined the Bureau of American Ethnology of the
Smithsonian Institution. Worked here for
eleven years.
1943 Founded the Institute of Social Anthropology at the Smithsonian
and served as its' first Director.
1946 Wrote the six volume Handbook of South American Indians.
1946 Returned to academic life when he accepted a teaching position at
Columbia University.
1952 Accepted a Professorship at the University of Illinois, Urbana.
One of Stewards' most important research activities was when he was at
Columbia. The project was a collaborative effort with the University of Puerto
Rico from 1948-49. It was the first attempt in Anthropology to study the
cultures of an entire area including political, economic and ecological
relationships. Steward also discovered the first known instance of irrigation
of wild food plants and focused on the interaction and work of ordinary life of
a society. His most noted work is that on cultural ecology and valid
cross-cultural laws.
Steward acquired a lifelong interest and attachment to the Shoshoni and
Northern Paiute Indians. He held an intense drive to salvage and preserve as
much information as possible on native North American Indians before all of the
information and culture was lost.
References:
Steward, Julian. Evolution and Ecology.
Essays on Social Transformation. University of Illinois Press,
1977.
Written by students in an Introduction to Anthropology course at
MSU-Mankato
Edited by Amy Landin, 2007