Obituaries are occasions for heartfelt and reverent writing in the context of otherwise objective newspapers or technical academic journals. They can be terse death announcements, accomplishment-filled biographical sketches or personal, emotive reminiscences. Obituaries serve many functions. They are an adulation of a life and a tribute to a life's work. They may tie up loose ends within the discipline, superficially or temporarily, by describing, defending, justifying or countering criticisms of the work or character of the deceased. They are an opportunity for the writer to release his own emotions and express his own opinions, solidifying the author's bond to the deceased. Thus, obituaries lend insight not only into the contributions and character of the deceased, but also into the relationship between the writer and  the deceased and the nature of the publication.

This website looks at obituaries of anthropologists from academic journals and national newspapers to understand how obituaries tell or construct the story and significance of a person's life. In encapsulating one anthropologists' life, obituaries encapsulate the nature, trends and essence of the discipline. They lend a face to the field at the same time that they give a face to the anthropologist's work. A study of obituaries is, therefore, both history and historiography.

 Through a reading of anthropologists' obituaries, and with attention to rhetorical devices, content and form, I examine the nature of obituaries at the same time that I compare perceptions of the deceased at the time of their death to current evaluations. I raise ideas and themes in form and content to consider the factors that influence the substance of obituaries and reflect on the utility of obituaries as a source of history. By examining obituaries through the categories below, we learn about the anthropologist as a person, the individual behind the ethnographies and theories, and learn about the writer and the publication behind the obituary.
 
 

Anthropologists Considered

James Frazer
Edward B. Tylor
William Rivers
Bronislaw Malinowski
Franz Boas
Ruth Benedict
E. E. Evans-Pritchard
Victor Turner
Margaret Mead
 

Sections of Analysis

Obituary elements
Impact of death
Unfinished work
Criticism
Evaluating their legacy
Predictions
Personalizing the scholar
Contextualizing the obituary
The Writer
Closing
Bibliography