Greenville Goodwin - Early Life and Education

Early Life and Education

Goodwin was born in Southampton, New York to wealthy parents. He contracted tuberculosis when young (when there was no cure) and was sent to the Mesa Ranch School in Arizona for its dry climate, believed to be more healthful. This was the start of his long relationship with and interest in the Southwest. The dean, Byron Cummings, suggested that he study at the University of Arizona.

He attended classes at Arizona, but found that he was not interested in earning a degree. Goodwin moved progressively to live for the next decade near Apache communities at Bylas, Fort Apache, Canyon Day, and Cibecue. He talked extensively to the people, especially the elders, and they began to accept his attention. He studied informally and was largely self-taught, although he did some graduate work at the University of Chicago in 1939, when he completed his monograph on the social organization of the Western Apache.

Read more about this topic:  Greenville Goodwin

Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or education:

    “Mormon colonization south of this point in early times was characterized as “going over the Rim,” and in colloquial usage the same phrase came to connote violent death.”
    —State of Utah, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)

    “One of the important things to learn about parenting is that the more you worry about a child, the less the child will worry about him- or herself....instead of worrying, watch with fascination and wonder as your child’s life unfolds, and help the child take responsibility for his or her own life.”
    —Charlotte Davis Kasl (20th century)

    “Strange as it may seem, no amount of learning can cure stupidity, and formal education positively fortifies it.”
    —Stephen Vizinczey (b. 1933)