The Anthropology of Expeditions: Travel, Visualities, Afterlives [Hardcover]

In the West at the turn of the twentieth century, public understanding of science and the world was shaped in part by expeditions to Asia, North America, and the Pacific.The Anthropology of Expeditionsdraws together contributions from anthropologists and historians of science to explore the role of these journeys in natural history and anthropology between approximately 1890 and 1930. By examining collected materials as well as museum and archive records, the contributors to this volume shed light on the complex social life and intimate work practices of the researchers involved in these expeditions. At the same time, the contributors also demonstrate the methodological challenges and rewards of studying these legacies and provide new insights for the history of collecting, history of anthropology, and histories of expeditions. Offering fascinating insights into the nature of expeditions and the human relationships that shaped them,The Anthropology of Expeditionssets a new standard for the field.

Joshua A. Bellis curator of globalization in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of Natural History.Erin L. Hasinoffis a research associate in the Division of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History and teaches in the Department of Anthropology at Columbia University.?

"This is an engaging collection of seven long essays, an introduction and afterword. Written by senior scholars, it provides a useful addition to the literature on a broad panoply of subjects including the motivations and methods behind assembling collections, their dispersals, institutionalisations and usages, and their digital re-mobilisation for empowering source communities."