Academic Journal

'Not Enough Anthropologists to Go Around': Sister Inez Hilger's Applied Anthropology

Λεπτομέρειες βιβλιογραφικής εγγραφής
Τίτλος: 'Not Enough Anthropologists to Go Around': Sister Inez Hilger's Applied Anthropology
Συγγραφείς: Brendan H. O'Connor
Πηγή: Annals of Anthropological Practice. 49
Στοιχεία εκδότη: Wiley, 2025.
Έτος έκδοσης: 2025
Περιγραφή: Sister Inez Hilger was a singular figure in twentieth‐century American anthropology, a habit‐wearing Benedictine nun who conducted fieldwork among Native North American tribes and Indigenous communities abroad. While outwardly conservative, S. Inez was resolutely modern in her commitment to bringing anthropological knowledge to bear on discussions of policy and practice outside the academy. In a sense, S. Inez had no choice but to focus on the application of anthropological knowledge to “social problems”: she never held an academic position in anthropology, but taught mainly in schools of nursing, where the onus was on her to demonstrate the relevance and value of her subjects—anthropology, sociology, and psychology—to the settings and people her future nurses were likely to encounter “in the field.” In this article, based on extensive archival research, I develop an account of S. Inez's groundbreaking efforts to apply anthropology in non‐academic settings, beginning with her earliest publications for nurses. I chart the growth of her political conscience following World War II and report on her participation in state and federal‐level discussions on “social problems” among American Indians, reconstructing her involvement in two significant conferences (in 1953 and 1964). I also consider evidence of her wider‐ranging political advocacy for Native peoples, including her role as an expert consultant for a US Senate subcommittee (in 1961). A consideration of S. Inez's publications and activities over the long term reveals that she moved from methodological individualism to a greater preoccupation with structural factors underlying the symptoms of social dysfunction among Native peoples.
Τύπος εγγράφου: Article
Γλώσσα: English
ISSN: 2153-9588
2153-957X
DOI: 10.1111/napa.70024
Rights: Wiley Online Library User Agreement
Αριθμός Καταχώρησης: edsair.doi...........0b4a71b2e00dcb063163a4e85d8fd76b
Βάση Δεδομένων: OpenAIRE
Περιγραφή
ISSN:21539588
2153957X
DOI:10.1111/napa.70024