Bronislaw Malinowski papers (LSE)

Author / Creator

Malinowski, Bronislaw, 1884-1942

Available as

Online

Summary

Best known for his research in the Trobriand Islands of Papua New Guinea, Malinowski went into the field for the first time in 1914, returning for multi-month trips over the next 4 years. He publis...

Best known for his research in the Trobriand Islands of Papua New Guinea, Malinowski went into the field for the first time in 1914, returning for multi-month trips over the next 4 years. He published his seminal ethnography - "Argonauts of the Western Pacific" - based on this research in 1922. The study was one of the first to examine the Kula Ring, generalized exchange and gift economies. One of the founders of modern-day anthropology, Malinowski advanced participant-observer methodologies, as well as theoretical contributions to functionalism. In 1938 Malinowski moved to the United States, teaching at Harvard, Yale, and other universities. He carried on fieldwork in Mexico, helping to advance anthropology there. Before completing his fieldwork, he died in 1942. The Bronislaw Malinowski Papers include his research in the Trobriand Islands, 1915-1918, as well as notes and drafts leading up to the publication of "Argonauts of the Western Pacific" in 1922.

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