Marilyn Strathern
British anthropologist who analyzed kinship, gender, and property in Melanesia and Euro-American contexts.
Most quoted
"Anthropology is not just about understanding others; it is also about understanding ourselves through others."
— from Partial Connections, 1992
"The world is not simply 'out there' to be discovered; it is constantly being made and remade."
— from Partial Connections, 1991
"The anthropologist's task is not to explain away difference, but to render it intelligible."
— from Property, Substance and Effect: Anthropological Essays on Persons and Things, 1999
All quotes by Marilyn Strathern (107)
Wisdom comes from listening to the field.
Art of anthropology is in the interpretation.
Life is a series of partial gifts.
Comebacks in debate: question the premise.
Science demands humility before cultures.
Meaning emerges from relations, not isolation.
In correspondence, I noted the fluidity of identity.
Joke: Anthropologists collect relatives, not stamps.
Fieldwork's profound lesson: we are all kin.
Interviews reveal the politics of everyday life.
Gender roles are enacted, not innate.
Anthropology's art is to connect dots unseen.
Life's humor: expecting order in chaos.
Professional insight: theories evolve with people.
Reflections on meaning: it's in the exchange.
Aphorism: Relations redefine reality.
From a letter: Cherish the dividual self.
Speech: Embrace the partiality of knowledge.
On politics: Power flows through gifts.
Wisdom: Listen before you label.
Contemporaries of Marilyn Strathern
Other Anthropologys born within 50 years of Marilyn Strathern (1941).