The Franz Boas Enigma: Inuit, Arctic, and Sciences

Addressing, for the first time, the enigma of how Franz Boas came to be the central founder of anthropology and a driving force in the acceptance of science as part of societal life in North America, this exploration breaks through the linguistic and cultural barriers that have prevented scholars from grasping the importance of Boas’s personal background and academic activities as a German Jew. Müller-Wille argues that to fully appreciate Boas’s complete scientific and literary opus and dee...