margaret mead
Brittany Corby
Anthropology 2150
Oct.8, 2013
Margaret Mead’s quest to understand adolescent girls in Samoa seems to have turned up some inaccurate data, I do not believe Margaret lied, but rather got it wrong by collecting inaccurate data from unreliable sources. Margaret found a society of free love, where casual sex took place without jealousy. A society where young girls did not experience the turmoil and stress faced by American girls (Margaret Mead and Samoa). While I do not believe that Mead fabricated her findings, I do believe that perhaps her role as a young, white, American, Anthropologist could have affected the data which she collected. I think it is also important to examine the time period in which Margaret was collecting her data. We need to be aware of what was going on in Margaret’s life at the time. Perhaps the work of Margaret’s teacher, Franz Boas could have pressured an affect on Mead’s findings in Samoa. I think it is also important to take into account what life was like in the time period for the young girls of Samoa in the 1920’s and compared to now. Perhaps there is a reason why they told Margaret one thing back then, and claim to have been joking now.
Margaret Mead was a young twenty three year old, white Anthropologist who set out to understand twenty five adolescent girls of Samoa. Mead finds a society of free love and harmony and a culture free of adolescent turmoil. Mead concludes that this turmoil faced in American culture must be a result of nature, culturally influenced (Margaret Mead and Samoa). I wonder how much accurate information Margaret really could have received while studying in Samoa.
Mead only spent five short months living within the Samoan people, I find it hard to believe the Samoan girls would be so trust worthy to a foreign white girl from America. Five months does not seem like it would be a sufficient amount of time to build a relationship of that candour, a relationship in which you are willing to
Anthropology 2150
Oct.8, 2013
Margaret Mead’s quest to understand adolescent girls in Samoa seems to have turned up some inaccurate data, I do not believe Margaret lied, but rather got it wrong by collecting inaccurate data from unreliable sources. Margaret found a society of free love, where casual sex took place without jealousy. A society where young girls did not experience the turmoil and stress faced by American girls (Margaret Mead and Samoa). While I do not believe that Mead fabricated her findings, I do believe that perhaps her role as a young, white, American, Anthropologist could have affected the data which she collected. I think it is also important to examine the time period in which Margaret was collecting her data. We need to be aware of what was going on in Margaret’s life at the time. Perhaps the work of Margaret’s teacher, Franz Boas could have pressured an affect on Mead’s findings in Samoa. I think it is also important to take into account what life was like in the time period for the young girls of Samoa in the 1920’s and compared to now. Perhaps there is a reason why they told Margaret one thing back then, and claim to have been joking now.
Margaret Mead was a young twenty three year old, white Anthropologist who set out to understand twenty five adolescent girls of Samoa. Mead finds a society of free love and harmony and a culture free of adolescent turmoil. Mead concludes that this turmoil faced in American culture must be a result of nature, culturally influenced (Margaret Mead and Samoa). I wonder how much accurate information Margaret really could have received while studying in Samoa.
Mead only spent five short months living within the Samoan people, I find it hard to believe the Samoan girls would be so trust worthy to a foreign white girl from America. Five months does not seem like it would be a sufficient amount of time to build a relationship of that candour, a relationship in which you are willing to