David Maybury-Lewis
Encyclopedia
David Henry Peter Maybury-Lewis (May 5, 1929 – December 2, 2007) was an anthropologist, ethnologist of lowland South America
, activist for indigenous peoples' human rights
and professor emeritus of Harvard University
.
Born in Hyderabad, Pakistan
, Maybury-Lewis attended Oxford University, at which he earned a D.Phil. In 1960, he joined the Harvard faculty, and was Edward C. Henderson Professor of Anthropology there from 1966 until he retired in 2004. His extensive ethnographic fieldwork was conducted primarily among indigenous peoples in central Brazil
, which culminated in his ethnography among the Xavante
, as well as post-modernist renditions. In 1972, he co-founded with his wife Pia Cultural Survival
, the leading U.S. based advocacy
and documentation organization devoted to "promoting the rights, voices and visions of indigenous peoples."
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, activist for indigenous peoples' human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and professor emeritus of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Born in Hyderabad, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Maybury-Lewis attended Oxford University, at which he earned a D.Phil. In 1960, he joined the Harvard faculty, and was Edward C. Henderson Professor of Anthropology there from 1966 until he retired in 2004. His extensive ethnographic fieldwork was conducted primarily among indigenous peoples in central Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, which culminated in his ethnography among the Xavante
Xavante
The Xavante are an indigenous people, comprising some 9,600 individuals within the territory of eastern Mato Grosso state in Brazil...
, as well as post-modernist renditions. In 1972, he co-founded with his wife Pia Cultural Survival
Cultural Survival
Cultural Survival is a nonprofit group based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA which is dedicated to defending the human rights of indigenous peoples. Their stated mandate is to promote the rights, voices and visions, of indigenous people. For 37 years, Cultural Survival has partnered with...
, the leading U.S. based advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
and documentation organization devoted to "promoting the rights, voices and visions of indigenous peoples."
Awards
- Former president of the American Ethnological SocietyAmerican Ethnological SocietyThe American Ethnological Society is the oldest professional anthropological association in the United States.- History of the American Ethnological Society :...
- Grand Cross of the Brazilian Order of Scientific MeritBrazilian Order of Scientific MeritThe National Order of Scientific Merit is an honor bestowed upon Brazilian and foreign personalities recognized for their scientific and technical contributions to the cause and development of science in Brazil.-Biology:* Marcelo Hermes-Lima* Jorge Curi...
, Brazil's highest academic honor, in 1997 - Anders Retzius gold medal of the Swedish Society for Anthropology and GeographySwedish Society for Anthropology and GeographyThe Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography is a scientific learned society founded in Sweden in 1877...
, in 1998
Selected bibliography
- Akwe-Shavante Society (1974) ISBN 0195197291
- Dialectical Societies: The Ge and Bororo of Central Brazil (1979) ISBN 0674202856
- Prospects for Plural Societies: 1982 Proceedings of the American Ethnological Society (1984) ISBN 0942976045
- The Attraction of Opposites: Thought and Society in the Dualistic Mode (1989) ISBN 0472080865
- Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern WorldMillennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern WorldMillennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World is a video by Harvard anthropologist David Maybury-Lewis.This refers to a series of 10 VHS videos of 60 minutes each...
(1992) ISBN 0670829358 - The Savage and the Innocent (2000) ISBN 080704685X
- Indigenous Peoples, Ethnic Groups, and the State (2001) ISBN 0205337465
- The Politics of Ethnicity:Indigenous Peoples in Latin American States (2003) ISBN 0674009649
External links
- Biography
- Cultural Survival
- Tribute to Maybury-Lewis, see Tipití (2008) 6(1-2):115-22.http://www.abant.org.br/conteudo/000NOTICIAS/OutrasNoticias/David_Maybury-Lewis_Tribute.pdf