Hortense Powdermaker - Legacy

Legacy

Powdermaker wrote many books and articles over her lifetime, however there are a few that stand out more than others. Her ethnographies on Northern Rhodesians, Hollywood, and Indianola and her comparison of these and one another ethnography are still recognized today as important works.

Her study After Freedom of Indianola, Mississippi, was important as it was one of the first studies of modern American culture by an anthropologist, as well as one of the first studies of an interracial community. This study was conducted from 1932 to 1934 and is of particular importance mainly because she successfully completed participant observation in both White and Black communities, despite the danger of doing so. Her groundbreaking theory which arose from this study was her explanation of the psychological adaptation underwent by Blacks and Whites due to their interracial environment.

Most people, outside of the field of anthropology, who know of Powdermaker, know her from her study of Hollywood. Hollywood, the Dream Factory, published in 1950 is known today as the only serious anthropological study of Hollywood.

In order to write Copper Town, Powdermaker had to overcome some difficulties. It has been criticized by many social anthropologists who did not like her use of psychological concept as well as her lack of “linguistic preparation”. Nevertheless, it is an important work when looking at the effects of the cinema on African culture as she presents an unbiased, anthropological perspective.

Stranger and Friend, published in 1966, was a comparison of her four ethnographic studies and provides an insight into her own understanding of her works. This book is also held highly in the anthropological community due to its “insight into the anthropological enterprise”