Reviews

The title refers simultaneously to American anthropologists and the domestic subjects they most often study: ethnic minorities and women. As evidenced by new retail chains such as Anthropologie, the public and the media often perceive anthropologists as what the author refers to as "guardians of the offbeat." Similarly, women and minorities are often viewed both by anthropologists and the public as "temporally distant" primitives. In this work, di Leonardo (anthropology and women's studies, Northwestern Univ.) presents an in-depth, fascinating history of the changing political context and public personae of American anthropology. Unlike recent histories such as Curtis Hinsley's Savages and Scientists (Smithsonian Institution, 1981), which focuses on anthropology's changing theoretical paradigms, di Leonardo concerns herself with how anthropologists are perceived by the public and portrayed by the media. Although written in sometimes cryptic academic language, this is an engaging study. Recommended for large public libraries with strong social science departments and academic anthropology collections.‘Jim Woodman, Boston Athenaeum