DEREK FREEMAN AND MARGARET MEAD: WHAT DID HE KNOW, AND WHEN DID HE KNOW IT?

Authors

Paul Shankman, University of Colorado–BoulderFollow

Abstract

Derek Freeman’s published autobiographical statement and his biographers’ account of his life report that, before he went to Samoa in 1940, Freeman was a cultural determinist strongly influenced by Margaret Mead’s work. While in the islands, Freeman stated that he discovered that Mead was wrong about Samoan culture and felt responsible for refuting her work, thus establishing a linear progression in his critique of Mead from his own first trip to the islands to the eventual publication, some four decades later, of Margaret Mead and Samoa: The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological Myth (1983). Interviews with Freeman suggest, however, that this narrative is incomplete and that the path he took was more circuitous and indirect. In fact, although Freeman had opportunities to do so, for more than two decades he avoided published criticism of Mead’s work. This more complex narrative raises questions about what Freeman knew about Mead’s work, when he knew it, and what he did with that knowledge.

Recommended Citation

Shankman, Paul (2009) "DEREK FREEMAN AND MARGARET MEAD: WHAT DID HE KNOW, AND WHEN DID HE KNOW IT?," Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 32: No. 2, Article 4.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol32/iss2/4