As one of the most renowned figures in the history of anthropology, Bronislaw Malinowski is recognised as having been central to the development of the discipline, with interpretations of his thought usually drawing attention to his work in founding the approach of functionalism and his innovative method of intensive field research. This book offers a decisive extension of Malinowskis achievement, referring to the accomplishments of present-day social sciences and humanities and the debts that they owe to Malinowksis oeuvre.
Bringing together eminent scholars in such fields as social anthropology, sociology, law, cultural studies, literary and theatre studies, and art history, this book emphasises the importance of Malinowskis theoretical and methodological insights as a treasure trove of inspiration for contemporary researchers.
A critical commentary on the life, work and legacy of Bronislaw Malinowski, it sheds light on his academic work, while personal documents, many of which are not well known or are completely unknown in the Anglophone sphere, prove their fundamental importance for understanding his oeuvre, and the intellectual connections between his work and the work of other most prominent intellectuals of the 20th and 21st centuries. It will therefore appeal to scholars across the social sciences and humanities with interests in the history of anthropology and sociology and fundamental questions of theory and research methodology.
Bringing to light sources as-yet-unknown in Anglophone research, this book considers the importance of the work of the renowned anthropologist, Bronislaw Malinowski, revealing the extent to which present-day humanities and social sciences are indebted to his theoretical and methodological insights.
PART I. BRONISAW MALINOWSKI: KNOWN AND UNKNOWN
1. Grayna Kubica, Bronisaw Malinowski the (Somewhat Anglicized and
Cosmopolitan) Pole: Biographical-Anthropological Reflections on His Polish
Identity
2. Patrick Burke, Our Ancestors: Making Sense of Bronisaw Malinowski and
Elsie Masson
PART II. REVISITING MALINOWSKIS INTELLECTUAL BACKGROUND
3. Petr Skalnķk, An Argonaut from Krakow: Pre-field Malinowski as a Theorist
4. Krzysztof ukasiewicz, Bronisaw Malinowski in the Laboratories of
Leipzig
5. Adam Kuper, Malinowski: A Modernist in His Way
PART III. MALINOWSKIS INTELLECTUAL RELATIONS: NEW INSIGHTS
6. Natalija Jakubova, I Am Not Really a Real Character: Malinowski,
Witkiewicz and the Pitfalls of Making Oneself a Character
7. Lena Magnone, Malinowski and the Disciples of Freud: Otto Rank, Ernest
Jones and Wilhelm Reich
8. Anna Engelking, Under the Wing of the Rockefeller Foundation: On the
Cooperation of Bronisaw Malinowski and His Polish Student Józef Obrbski
PART IV. RECONSIDERATIONS OF INTERPRETIVE FRAMEWORKS
9. Andreas Lipowsky, Bronisaw Malinowski: An Icon of a Body-centric
Anthropology?
10. Andrzej Kisielewski, The Gardens Are, in a Way, a Work of Art:
Bronisaw Malinowskis Social Anthropology as Anthropology of Art
11. Mateusz Stpie, Exploring the Intersection of Law, Culture, and Biology:
Tensions and Unfulfilled Potential in Malinowskis Legal Thought
PART V. MALINOWSKI AND ANTHROPOLOGY TODAY
12. linus s. digimRina, Gimwala and Kula: Malinowskis Living Ethnography
13. Marta Songin-Mokrzan, What If We Have Followed Malinowski Instead of
Staying on the Trobriand Islands? Notes on the Anthropological Multiverse
14. Dariusz Brzeziski, Bronisaw Malinowski and the Anthropology of
Nostalgia
Aleksandar Bokovi, Afterword: Malinowski in Context
Grayna Kubica is Professor in Social Science at the Social Anthropology Section in the Institute of Sociology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków.
Dariusz Brzeziski is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences and Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds.
