In this unit (to accompany the SAPIENS podcast S6E6), students will revisit the Mead-Freeman controversy in depth. They will reassess how Freeman critiqued and refuted Mead, then study the resulting controversy within the field of anthropology. Finally, they will apply lessons from the Mead-Freeman controversy to current research and theories.
Written or spoken communication or debate.
Freeman, Derek. “Social Anthropology and the Scientific Study of Human Behaviour.” Man 1, no. 3 (1966): 330-342.
Scheper-Hughes, Nancy. “The Margaret Mead Controversy: Culture, Biology, and Anthropological Inquiry.” Human Organization 43, no. 1 (1984): 85-93.
Shankman, Paul. “Culture, Biology, and Evolution: The Mead-Freeman Controversy Revisited.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence 29 (2000): 539-556.
Article: John Shaw’s “Derek Freeman, Who Challenged Margaret Mead on Samoa, Dies at 84”
Book: Derek Freeman’s Margaret Mead and The Heretic
Video: Documentary Educational Resources’ “Odyssey Series: Margaret Mead – Taking Note – PREVIEW”
Catherine Torres, Freedom Learning Group