Ruth Benedict
Anthropologist
who is Ruth Benedict
Ruth Benedict was born on June 5 1887 in New York city and died on September 17 1948 in New York. Ruth was considered as one of the pioneers of cultural anthropology. Ruth's father Frederick Fulton was a surgeon and her mother Beatrice Fulton was a school teacher. She also had a younger sister Margery Fulton.
stanley benedict
Husband of Ruth Benedict, while Ruth was in los Angeles she met her future husband Stanley benedict a biochemist. The couple moved back to New York in 1914 and bought a house in Long Island, from which Stanley commuted to his work at Cornell Medical College in Manhattan.
Ruth Benedict Education
In 1905 Ruth and Margery entered Vassar, where Ruth continued to develop her interest in literature, poetry, and writing prose. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1909, with a degree in English literature. In 1921, at the age of 34, Ruth Benedict entered Columbia University, where she earned her PhD in anthropology studying mainly under Franz Boas. Frank Boas identification of the "four fields" of the emerging discipline, combining physical anthropology, linguistics, archaeology, and cultural anthropology, were immediately engaging to Ruth Benedict.
Places Ruth Benedict worked at
After her time in Europe she settled in Buffalo New York, where she worked for the Charity Organization Society, Ruth Benedict quit because she felt unqualified to the task. In 1911, she took a teaching job at the Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles, and later she taught at the Orton School for Girls in Pasadena for two years. After obtaining her PhD, Benedict served for a year as Franz Boaz's teaching assistant at Barnard College. Benedict taught, at the Columbia University from 1923, first as a lecturer and then earning full professorship, a few months before her death in 1948.
The famous books of Ruth Benedict
PATTERNS OF CULTURE
published in 1924
BY: Ruth BenedictThe chrysanthemum and sword
BY: Ruth Benedict
Race: science and politics
BY: Ruth Benedict
writing on European and Japanese cultures during WWII
With the beginning of the World War II (WWII), Ruth Benedict became involved with the war effort, writing about Japanese and European culture for the office of war information. By studying Japanese culture Ruth Benedict was able to write the book The Chrysanthemum and the Sword.
contributions to anthropology
Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead
Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead were close friends and were considered to be the two most inspiring and famous anthropologists of their time. The birthplace of Ruth has been criticized by people some say she was born in New York City but her close friend Margaret Mead claims that she was born in a small farming town, Shenango Valley. Benedict and Mead proved that women had unique and fresh perspectives that enlarged the world of science. In a field dominated by men until the early 20th century.
Ruth Benedict Theories
Translation: Individual personalities are determined by the cultural choices allowed by members in any society. Culture and personality and very connected and cannot be viewed separately. Through Ruth Benedict's journeys and studying different cultures she came to this realization.
Passing on her Legacy: Benedict taught as a lecturer, then she was rewarded with full professorship. Benedict was said to be an amazing teacher. She was difficult to understand, since she used poetry in her lectures, but at the same time explained her complexed ideas passionately and oddly clear. One of her students phrased, "between the uh and ah, a bombshell of light which changed everything."