Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Paul Radin" - New World
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| − | '''Paul Radin''' ( | + | '''Paul Radin''' (born April 2, 1883 – died February 21, 1959) was an American linguist, anthropologist, and ethnographer, famous for his work on the ethnology of religion and mythology, and his fieldwork among Native Americans of California and Great Lakes. |
| − | == | + | ==Life== |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | === | + | '''Paul Radin''' was born in Lodz, [[Russia]] (today [[Poland]]), into a family of Adolf and Johanna Radin. His father was a physician and a rabbi of the reform movement, who took his five children and a wife and immigrated to Elmira, New York in 1884. The family eventually moved to New York City in 1890. Radin’s two sisters died, soon after the arrival, from scarlet fewer epidemics. |
| − | *Diamond, Stanley | + | |
| − | *Lindberg, Christer 2000 | + | Radin graduated from the City College of New York in 1902, and enrolled in Columbia University to study zoology. However, after his trip to Europe (from 1905 to 1907), he decided to change his major to anthropology. Franz Boas has just opened the first Ph.D. program in anthropological studies in the United States few years earlier, and Radin, together with some prominent names in this area, such as [[Alfred L. Kroeber]], [[Clark Wissler]], [[Edward Sapir]], and [[Robert Lowie]], decided to join. He married in 1910, and earned his Ph.D. in 1911. |
| − | *Lurie, N.O. | + | |
| + | Already in 1908 Radin began years of productive fieldwork among the Winnebago Indians of Wisconsin. He published numerous books later in his life on the life and beliefs of Winnebago people, covering nearly every aspect of their lives. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Radin’s career, however, officially started in 1911 when he was hired by the Bureau of American Ethnology. He spent several years after that in studying Zapotec mythology and linguistics. In 1914 he and his friend Sapir went to work for the Geological Survey of Canada, for which they studied Ojibwa Indians. Radin in 1918 moved to California, where he worked on the [[University of California, Barkley]] together with Kroeber and Lowie. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In 1920 Radin went to Europe to work on [[Cambridge University]]. There he became increasingly interested for the works of [[C.G. Jung]], especially on mythology. In 1925 he returned to America, and started his work for the [[University of Michigan]], studying Ottawa Indians. From 1927 to 1930 he worked on the Fisk University, and in 1930 he went back to Barkley. Next ten years Radin spent in California, doing fieldwork among different California Indians, and among minority groups of the San Francisco area. By the end of this period, he married his second wife, Doris Woodward. | ||
| + | |||
| + | From 1941 to 1944 Radin taught at Black Mountain College, and then moved back to Barkley where he stayed until 1949. He became an editor of the ''Indiana University Publications in Anthropology and Linguistics'' in 1948, obtaining that duty until his death. | ||
| + | R | ||
| + | adin decided to permanently move to Europe in 1949, where for the next three years he lectured in [[Sweden]] and [[Switzerland]]. He finally settled down in Lugano, Switzerland in 1952, becoming a professor at the [[C.G. Jung Institute]]. At the same time he sporadically taught at Oxford, Cambridge, and Manchester universities. In 1957 he moved again, to teach for the Brandeis University. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Radin died in 1959 in New York City. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Work== | ||
| + | |||
| + | Same as Radin’s life, which is characterized by constant flux - moving from university to university, teaching here and there - his work can be also seen as rather paradoxical. Radin was strongly influenced by Boasian cultural relativism. He, on one side, tried to explain religion in Freudian terms, yet on other side believed in genuine religious experience. Moreover, although being a Jew himself, he advocated for the similarities of Jewish scriptures with other sacred texts, pointing to the general nature of revelation in world religions. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In his ''Primitive Religion'' (1937) Radin claims that all religious experiences are similar in nature. That this is true can be best seen on the example of different [[mythologies]] from different parts of the world, which all share common themes. To understand the history of certain culture, thus, is best to start with studying of its mythologies and beliefs. With this claim, Radin was probably one of the first anthropologists who approached the study of culture from within human mind – that of the thought process itself. Radin advocated for the individualistic approach to culture-studies. He believed that ethnographical study should start with the interpretation of the culture from the side of a member of that culture. The interpretation would be in the language of the culture, through the knowledge of the culture’s history, and in the environment of the culture (see Radin, 1987, pp.184-186) | ||
| + | |||
| + | His autobiographical sketch of a Winnebago Indian, ''Crashing Thunder'' (1926) is still widely read today. In it Radin, through the eyes of one of the members of the Winnebago tribe, describes the world of change and chaos, the way it was experienced by the Indian. This book was the landmark in American anthropology, being the first autobiographical study of this kind. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Radin was widely interested in the use of psychology in anthropological studies. He wanted to understand human nature, and the connection between individual character and collective phenomena. Radin believed that in every culture, regardless of how primitive it looked like, the degree of religiosity among its people is similar, ranging from indifferent (people who do not care about spirituality) to deep (people with profound spiritual experiences). Radin thus makes a distinction between “religious” and “non-religious” people. In addition, reflective individuals can be found in every culture. Radin called such individuals the “thinkers”. On the other side, there are always people who are more practice oriented, and who are not thinkers. Radin called them the “men of action”. Whether one experiences religious experiences depends on the proclivities and intelligence of the individual. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Radin rejected Freudian and Marxist ideas of exploitative nature of religion, which claim that religion is frequently used to dominate people. Radin was aware that religion can indeed be used by religious figures or movements as a means to control others, but he claimed that in primitive societies such domination cannot be found. It is probably, argued Radin, that the idea of religion as controlling force is the product of our, “civilized” society. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Legacy== | ||
| + | |||
| + | Radin preferred to be an independent scholar. He thought that academic affiliation limits one freedom of expression, so he never stayed within one academic institution for longer than few years. As a student and a follower of [[Franz Boas]], Radin belongs to the group of scholars who left significant mark on the development of anthropology as modern science. Through his work he thus influenced numerous generations of anthropologists who followed Boasian steps. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Radin’s approach to [[ethnography]], from within the mind of a member of the culture studied is perhaps not revolutionary itself, but his insistence on psychology as the door to understanding culture is. With this Radin opened the field of culture-personality studies. He pioneered autobiographical method in anthropological study as well. | ||
| + | |||
| + | As a linguist, Radin described a number of North American languages and developed a classification scheme emphasizing their unity. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Radin's ideas attracted the interest of individuals from different fields of interest, including sociologist [[Lewis Mumford]], psychoanalyst [[Carl Gustav Jung]], poet [[John Crowe Ransom]], and philosopher [[John Dewey]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Bibliography== | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Radin, Paul. 1927. ''Primitive Man as Philosopher''. Dover Publications Inc. ISBN 0486203921 | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Radin, Paul. 1933. ''Social anthropology''. McGraw-Hill | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Radin, Paul. 1934. ''The racial myth''. Whittlesey house, McGraw-Hill book company. | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Radin, Paul. 1937. ''Primitive Religion: Its Nature and Origin''. Dover Publications. ISBN 048620393X | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Radin, Paul. 1946. ''Indians of South America''. Doubleday & Company, Inc. | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Radin, Paul. 1969 (original work from 1956). ''The Trickster: A Study in Native American Mythology''. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0837121124 | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Radin, Paul. 1971. ''The Golden Mountain''. Oriental Book Store. ISBN 0899860168 | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Radin, Paul. 1975. ''The Italians of San Francisco''. Ayer Co Pub. ISBN 0405064152 | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Radin, Paul. 1983. (original work from 1926). ''Crashing Thunder (The Native American Autobiography Series).'' University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803289103 | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Radin, Paul. 1987. ''African Folktales'' (New Ed. edition). Schocken. ISBN 0805207325 | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Radin, Paul. 1987. (original work from 1933). ''The Method and Theory of Ethnology''. Bergin & Garvey Paperback. ISBN 089789118X | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Radin, Paul. 1990. (original work from 1923). ''The Winnebago Tribe''. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803257104 | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Radin, Paul. 1991. ''The Road of Life and Death''. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691019169 | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==References== | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Diamond, Stanley. 1960. ''Culture in History: Essays in Honor of Paul Radin''. Octagon Books. ISBN 0374921555 | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Hoijer, Harry 1959 Paul Radin: 1883-1959. ''American Anthropologist'', 61, 839-843 | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Lindberg, Christer 2000. Paul Radin: The Anthropological Trickster. ''European Review of Native American Studies'', 14(1) | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Lurie, N.O. 1989. Relations between Indians and Anthropologists. In William C. Sturtevant & Wilcomb E. Washburn (Eds.), ''Handbook of North American Indians: History of Indian-White Relations'' (Vol. 4). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 0160045835 | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Vidich, Arthur J. 1965. Paul Radin and Contemporary Anthropology. ''Social Research'', 32, 375-407. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==External links== | ||
| − | |||
*[http://hotcakencyclopedia.com/ho.Radin@APS.html Paul Radin's Winnebago Notebooks] at the American Philosophical Library | *[http://hotcakencyclopedia.com/ho.Radin@APS.html Paul Radin's Winnebago Notebooks] at the American Philosophical Library | ||
| − | |||
| + | *[http://www.marquette.edu/library/collections/archives/Mss/PR/PRmain.html Paul Radin Papers] - Special Collection at Marquette University Libraries | ||
| + | |||
| + | *[http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/pqrst/radin_paul.html Paul Radin] – Short biography | ||
| + | |||
| + | *[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9062409?tocId=9062409 Biography of Paul Radin] – Radin’s biography in Encyclopedia Britannica | ||
| + | |||
| + | *[http://www.dickshovel.com/win.html Winnebago Tribe] – Some historical facts on Winnebago Indians | ||
| + | |||
| + | *[http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art19373.asp Cloths of Winnebago Indians] – Some photos of Winnebago’s clothes | ||
{{Credit1|Paul_Radin|59936278|}} | {{Credit1|Paul_Radin|59936278|}} | ||
Revision as of 10:32, 29 September 2006
Paul Radin (born April 2, 1883 – died February 21, 1959) was an American linguist, anthropologist, and ethnographer, famous for his work on the ethnology of religion and mythology, and his fieldwork among Native Americans of California and Great Lakes.
Life
Paul Radin was born in Lodz, Russia (today Poland), into a family of Adolf and Johanna Radin. His father was a physician and a rabbi of the reform movement, who took his five children and a wife and immigrated to Elmira, New York in 1884. The family eventually moved to New York City in 1890. Radin’s two sisters died, soon after the arrival, from scarlet fewer epidemics.
Radin graduated from the City College of New York in 1902, and enrolled in Columbia University to study zoology. However, after his trip to Europe (from 1905 to 1907), he decided to change his major to anthropology. Franz Boas has just opened the first Ph.D. program in anthropological studies in the United States few years earlier, and Radin, together with some prominent names in this area, such as Alfred L. Kroeber, Clark Wissler, Edward Sapir, and Robert Lowie, decided to join. He married in 1910, and earned his Ph.D. in 1911.
Already in 1908 Radin began years of productive fieldwork among the Winnebago Indians of Wisconsin. He published numerous books later in his life on the life and beliefs of Winnebago people, covering nearly every aspect of their lives.
Radin’s career, however, officially started in 1911 when he was hired by the Bureau of American Ethnology. He spent several years after that in studying Zapotec mythology and linguistics. In 1914 he and his friend Sapir went to work for the Geological Survey of Canada, for which they studied Ojibwa Indians. Radin in 1918 moved to California, where he worked on the University of California, Barkley together with Kroeber and Lowie.
In 1920 Radin went to Europe to work on Cambridge University. There he became increasingly interested for the works of C.G. Jung, especially on mythology. In 1925 he returned to America, and started his work for the University of Michigan, studying Ottawa Indians. From 1927 to 1930 he worked on the Fisk University, and in 1930 he went back to Barkley. Next ten years Radin spent in California, doing fieldwork among different California Indians, and among minority groups of the San Francisco area. By the end of this period, he married his second wife, Doris Woodward.
From 1941 to 1944 Radin taught at Black Mountain College, and then moved back to Barkley where he stayed until 1949. He became an editor of the Indiana University Publications in Anthropology and Linguistics in 1948, obtaining that duty until his death. R adin decided to permanently move to Europe in 1949, where for the next three years he lectured in Sweden and Switzerland. He finally settled down in Lugano, Switzerland in 1952, becoming a professor at the C.G. Jung Institute. At the same time he sporadically taught at Oxford, Cambridge, and Manchester universities. In 1957 he moved again, to teach for the Brandeis University.
Radin died in 1959 in New York City.
Work
Same as Radin’s life, which is characterized by constant flux - moving from university to university, teaching here and there - his work can be also seen as rather paradoxical. Radin was strongly influenced by Boasian cultural relativism. He, on one side, tried to explain religion in Freudian terms, yet on other side believed in genuine religious experience. Moreover, although being a Jew himself, he advocated for the similarities of Jewish scriptures with other sacred texts, pointing to the general nature of revelation in world religions.
In his Primitive Religion (1937) Radin claims that all religious experiences are similar in nature. That this is true can be best seen on the example of different mythologies from different parts of the world, which all share common themes. To understand the history of certain culture, thus, is best to start with studying of its mythologies and beliefs. With this claim, Radin was probably one of the first anthropologists who approached the study of culture from within human mind – that of the thought process itself. Radin advocated for the individualistic approach to culture-studies. He believed that ethnographical study should start with the interpretation of the culture from the side of a member of that culture. The interpretation would be in the language of the culture, through the knowledge of the culture’s history, and in the environment of the culture (see Radin, 1987, pp.184-186)
His autobiographical sketch of a Winnebago Indian, Crashing Thunder (1926) is still widely read today. In it Radin, through the eyes of one of the members of the Winnebago tribe, describes the world of change and chaos, the way it was experienced by the Indian. This book was the landmark in American anthropology, being the first autobiographical study of this kind.
Radin was widely interested in the use of psychology in anthropological studies. He wanted to understand human nature, and the connection between individual character and collective phenomena. Radin believed that in every culture, regardless of how primitive it looked like, the degree of religiosity among its people is similar, ranging from indifferent (people who do not care about spirituality) to deep (people with profound spiritual experiences). Radin thus makes a distinction between “religious” and “non-religious” people. In addition, reflective individuals can be found in every culture. Radin called such individuals the “thinkers”. On the other side, there are always people who are more practice oriented, and who are not thinkers. Radin called them the “men of action”. Whether one experiences religious experiences depends on the proclivities and intelligence of the individual.
Radin rejected Freudian and Marxist ideas of exploitative nature of religion, which claim that religion is frequently used to dominate people. Radin was aware that religion can indeed be used by religious figures or movements as a means to control others, but he claimed that in primitive societies such domination cannot be found. It is probably, argued Radin, that the idea of religion as controlling force is the product of our, “civilized” society.
Legacy
Radin preferred to be an independent scholar. He thought that academic affiliation limits one freedom of expression, so he never stayed within one academic institution for longer than few years. As a student and a follower of Franz Boas, Radin belongs to the group of scholars who left significant mark on the development of anthropology as modern science. Through his work he thus influenced numerous generations of anthropologists who followed Boasian steps.
Radin’s approach to ethnography, from within the mind of a member of the culture studied is perhaps not revolutionary itself, but his insistence on psychology as the door to understanding culture is. With this Radin opened the field of culture-personality studies. He pioneered autobiographical method in anthropological study as well.
As a linguist, Radin described a number of North American languages and developed a classification scheme emphasizing their unity.
Radin's ideas attracted the interest of individuals from different fields of interest, including sociologist Lewis Mumford, psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung, poet John Crowe Ransom, and philosopher John Dewey.
Bibliography
- Radin, Paul. 1927. Primitive Man as Philosopher. Dover Publications Inc. ISBN 0486203921
- Radin, Paul. 1933. Social anthropology. McGraw-Hill
- Radin, Paul. 1934. The racial myth. Whittlesey house, McGraw-Hill book company.
- Radin, Paul. 1937. Primitive Religion: Its Nature and Origin. Dover Publications. ISBN 048620393X
- Radin, Paul. 1946. Indians of South America. Doubleday & Company, Inc.
- Radin, Paul. 1969 (original work from 1956). The Trickster: A Study in Native American Mythology. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0837121124
- Radin, Paul. 1971. The Golden Mountain. Oriental Book Store. ISBN 0899860168
- Radin, Paul. 1975. The Italians of San Francisco. Ayer Co Pub. ISBN 0405064152
- Radin, Paul. 1983. (original work from 1926). Crashing Thunder (The Native American Autobiography Series). University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803289103
- Radin, Paul. 1987. African Folktales (New Ed. edition). Schocken. ISBN 0805207325
- Radin, Paul. 1987. (original work from 1933). The Method and Theory of Ethnology. Bergin & Garvey Paperback. ISBN 089789118X
- Radin, Paul. 1990. (original work from 1923). The Winnebago Tribe. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803257104
- Radin, Paul. 1991. The Road of Life and Death. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691019169
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Diamond, Stanley. 1960. Culture in History: Essays in Honor of Paul Radin. Octagon Books. ISBN 0374921555
- Hoijer, Harry 1959 Paul Radin: 1883-1959. American Anthropologist, 61, 839-843
- Lindberg, Christer 2000. Paul Radin: The Anthropological Trickster. European Review of Native American Studies, 14(1)
- Lurie, N.O. 1989. Relations between Indians and Anthropologists. In William C. Sturtevant & Wilcomb E. Washburn (Eds.), Handbook of North American Indians: History of Indian-White Relations (Vol. 4). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 0160045835
- Vidich, Arthur J. 1965. Paul Radin and Contemporary Anthropology. Social Research, 32, 375-407.
External links
- Paul Radin's Winnebago Notebooks at the American Philosophical Library
- Paul Radin Papers - Special Collection at Marquette University Libraries
- Paul Radin – Short biography
- Biography of Paul Radin – Radin’s biography in Encyclopedia Britannica
- Winnebago Tribe – Some historical facts on Winnebago Indians
- Cloths of Winnebago Indians – Some photos of Winnebago’s clothes
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