Bronisław Kasper Malinowski
Bronisław Malinowski was a Polish
anthropologist widely considered to be one of the most important
anthropologists of the twentieth century. Malinowski was a pioneer in
developing the field of cultural anthropology. He established the
methodological foundations of ethnographic fieldwork and theoretical analysis
that have come to define the discipline.
Malinowski showed in detail that no
matter how strange or exotic various practices might appear to outsiders, they
were an integral part of the healthy functioning of that community. He
demonstrated that even so-called superstitions had a logic and function within
the context of that society.
His research focused on Melanesia,
where he conducted his famous studies of the Trobrianders, including their form
of gift exchange known as Kula ring.
He likes me because he was a pioneer
in his working area. He had no fear of entering a world unknown with completely
different people, with different customs and ways of life. While the
circumstances forced him to be there, no doubt to deepen their work and take
advantage of the situation.
