Radin's Conception of Anthropology

Little known to some sociologists, Arthur Vidich was a social anthropologists with a passion for ethnology.  He wrote an extensive introduction to Paul Radin's classic "The Method and Theory of Ethnology" in 1966 which has received little academic attention even though it is immensely useful for those interested in understanding Vidich's methodological approach to community studies. Vidich, like Radin,was keen to point out the role of the marginalized intellectual in gaining the high ground over institutionalized theories of ethnology championed by Franz Boas and his disciples who espoused a quasi ahistorcal approach to anthropology.  

Vidich's introduction to Radin's work reveals his long and passionate belief that only historically based ethnographies could achieve a meaningful description of indigenous cultures.  He, like Radin, pointed to the impossibility of removing the impact of the observer upon the subjects of his investigation - implying that the very act of undertaking an ethnography of so called "primitive cultures" was an act of transformation, if not destruction, of those cultures. Vidich's 110 page introduction to Radin's 267 page essay is arguably one of the longest ever written for any anthropological treatise. Yet despite its length, it provides important insights into Vidich's philosophy of ethnography and, on a broader level, his theories of detachment and need for intellectual marginality when undertaking participant observation research within primitive or advanced cultures. As Vidich contends, "One of the risks of being both a social scientist and a Westerner is that one brings with him the burden of current social scientific intellectual thought styles, which are made all the more onerous when they are legitimized by a tradition of professional thought rather than by the world of experience of his subjects." Indeed, the challenge of disposing of the intellectual baggage that is called "anthropology" - with all of the intellectual biases of the western mind - is central to Vidich's belief in the need for an historical context  and an understanding of the "personal factors relevant to every observation" in order to understand the primitive world. This challenge is not simply that facing the modern anthropologist, it applies to all those conducting community studies. Vidich implies that self-analysis precedes, and is a necessary prerequisite for any legitimate ethnographic investigation of a primitive culture. Yet self analysis must also be complemented by a full review of the historical traditions of the culture in question. In essence, the scientific method is of trivial value for an ethnographer if does not also rest upon the historical context of that culture. Interestingly enough, these insights are a reflection of how Vidich conducted his classic ethnography titled "The Political Impact of Colonial Administration" which is an historical analysis of Palau and its culture.

The concluding chapter in the book was written by Vidich and is titled "Ideological Themes in American Anthropology." In this 40 page essay Vidich reveals the uses and misuses of anthropological thought as a tool to analyze the failures of western civilization. Primitive societies have been used as examples of what our civilization lost; a sense of community, belonging and meaning in this world. In Vidich's view some factions of modern anthropology have romanticized primitive cultures and used them to make invidious comparisons to western culture. Written in the 1960s, this essay may be a little dated but it clearly shows how intellectual disciplines are affected by the milieu in which they operate.

 For those interested in understanding Vidich's seminal role in conducting state of the art community studies in America, his essay, "Radin's Conception of Anthropology" is must reading.