Alan Donald James Macfarlane (born 20 December 1941) was Professor of Social Anthropology at the
University of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge , located in the City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and the fourth oldest in Europe...
. He is the author or editor of 20 books and numerous articles on the
anthropologyAnthropology is the study of human beings, everywhere and throughout time....
and
historyHistory is the study of the human past, with special attention to the written record. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it often attempts to investigate objectively the patterns...
of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
NepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia and the world's youngest republic. It is bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
. He has focused on comparative study of the origins and nature of the modern world. In recent years he has become increasingly interested in the use of visual material in teaching and research.
Macfarlane was educated at
Sedbergh SchoolSedbergh School is a boarding school in Sedbergh, Cumbria, for boys and girls aged 13 to 18. Nestled in the Howgill Fells, it is known for sporting sides, such as its Rugby Union 1st XV.-Background:...
,
Worcester College, OxfordWorcester College [ˈwʊstǝ] is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in the eighteenth century, but its predecessor on the same site had been an institution of learning since the late thirteenth century...
, and the
LSELSE usually refers to:* The London School of Economics and Political Science, a specialist constituent college of the University of London* London Stock Exchange or its owner group London Stock Exchange Group plcLess commonly:...
.
Alan Donald James Macfarlane (born 20 December 1941) was Professor of Social Anthropology at the
University of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge , located in the City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and the fourth oldest in Europe...
. He is the author or editor of 20 books and numerous articles on the
anthropologyAnthropology is the study of human beings, everywhere and throughout time....
and
historyHistory is the study of the human past, with special attention to the written record. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it often attempts to investigate objectively the patterns...
of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
NepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia and the world's youngest republic. It is bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
. He has focused on comparative study of the origins and nature of the modern world. In recent years he has become increasingly interested in the use of visual material in teaching and research.
Career
Macfarlane was educated at
Sedbergh SchoolSedbergh School is a boarding school in Sedbergh, Cumbria, for boys and girls aged 13 to 18. Nestled in the Howgill Fells, it is known for sporting sides, such as its Rugby Union 1st XV.-Background:...
,
Worcester College, OxfordWorcester College [ˈwʊstǝ] is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in the eighteenth century, but its predecessor on the same site had been an institution of learning since the late thirteenth century...
, and the
LSELSE usually refers to:* The London School of Economics and Political Science, a specialist constituent college of the University of London* London Stock Exchange or its owner group London Stock Exchange Group plcLess commonly:...
. He gained a PhD from SOAS and a DPhil from
OxfordThe University of Oxford , located in the UK city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back...
. In 1975 he was appointed lecturer in social anthropology at Cambridge University, becoming a reader in historical anthropology in 1981 and a professor of anthropological science in 1991. He is a member of
King's College, CambridgeKing's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.Founded in 1441, the college's formal name is "The King's College of Our Lady and St. Nicholas in Cambridge". It is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the university.- History :King's was founded in 1441 by...
, where he was a senior research fellow in history from 1971-74 and a fellow from 1981.
Anthropological interests
Macfarlane's first major publication, in 1970, was
Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England, a historical study of the conditions that gave rise to English witchcraft beliefs. His approach drew on the work of classic
functionalistStructural functionalism is a sociological paradigm which addresses the social structure with regard to the social function of its constituent elements; namely, norms, customs, traditions, and institutions...
anthropologists Edward Evans-Pritchard and
Lucy MairLucy Philip Mair was a British anthropologist. She wrote on the subject of social organization, and contributed to the involvement of anthropological research in governance and politics.-Career:...
. Also in 1970, Macfarlane published
The Family Life of Ralph JosselinRalph Josselin , was the vicar of Earls Colne in Essex from 1641 until his death in 1683. He is celebrated for his remarkable diary rivalling that of Samuel Pepys which records intimate details of everyday farming life, family and kinship in a small, isolated rural community.Alan Macfarlane began...
, a study of the diary of a famous seventeenth century clergyman. His approach here, exploring the emotions, fears, and relationships of an individual to attempt a historical study of private life in seventeenth century England, was reminiscent of the
Annales SchoolThe Annales School is a style of historiography developed by French historians in the 20th century. It is named after its French-language scholarly journal , which remains the main source, along with many books and monographs...
.
Macfarlane has undertaken several periods of ethnographic field research, the first of these a period in
NepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia and the world's youngest republic. It is bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
with the
GurungThe Gurung is an ethnic group from the Central region of Nepal. They live primarily in West Nepal’s Gandaki zone, specifically Lamjung, Kaski, Tanahu, Gorkha, Parbat and Syangja districts as well as the Manang district around the Annapurna mountain range. Some live in the Baglung, Okhaldhunga and...
people. He used this period as the foundation of a 1976 study,
Resources and Population a Malthusian analysis of Gurung responses to scarce resources and an expanding population. Following Malthus' demographic principles, Macfarlane warned that the Gurung might experience a ‘population check’ in coming decades.
Historical interests
Macfarlane has published extensively on English history, advancing the idea that many traits of so-called ‘modern society’ appeared in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
long before the period of modernity as defined by historians like
Lawrence StoneLawrence Stone was an English historian of early modern Britain. He is noted for his work on the English Civil War and marriage.-Biography:...
. Drawing loosely on work by
Max WeberMaximilian Carl Emil Weber was a German lawyer, politician, historian, sociologist and political economist, who profoundly influenced social theory and the remit of sociology itself. His major works dealt with the rationalization, bureaucratization, and 'disenchantment' he associated with the...
, Macfarlane has contrasted the defining characteristics of modern and traditional society. His 1987 book
The Culture of Capitalism is a non-deterministic study of the emergence of modernity and
capitalismCapitalism is an economic and social system in which the means of production are privately controlled; labor, goods and capital are traded in a market; profits are distributed to owners or invested in technologies and industries; and wages are paid to labor...
in
Western EuropeWestern Europe is the collection of countries in the westernmost region of Europe, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a cultural entity—the region lying west of Central Europe...
.Two further books,
The Origins of English Individualism (1978) and
Marriage and Love in England (1986), explore the way English family institutions and social life emerged distinctly from continental European institutions and experiences.
During the 1990s Macfarlane was invited to lecture in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, initiating a period of research into the distinct emergency of modernity in Japan by contrast to England and Europe. 1997's
The Savage Wars of Peace returned to Macfarlane's early interest in Malthus and demographics, comparing the modernity experiences of England and Japan. The book argues that England and Japan, both relatively large but non-remote islands, were each positioned to develop an autonomous culture while still profiting from nearby continental influence. Through different means, both Japan and England overcame the Malthusian trap, keeping birth and mortality rates under control, thus providing a demographic impetus for the rise of capitalism and prosperity.
Literary works and collaborations
Macfarlane's work on modernity acknowledges his
EnlightenmentThe Age of Enlightenment, or simply The Enlightenment, is a term used to describe a time in Western philosophy and cultural life, centered upon the eighteenth century, in which reason was advocated as the primary source and legitimacy for authority....
roots. His
Riddle of the Modern World (2000) and
Making of the Modern World (2001) are contributions to the field of history of ideas, addressing the work of Montesquieu,
Adam SmithAdam Smith was a Scottish moral philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
,
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville was a French political thinker and historian best known for his Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution...
,
Ernest GellnerErnest André Gellner was a philosopher, a sociologist and a social anthropologist, cited as one of the world's "most vigorous intellectuals" and a "one-man crusade for critical rationalism," whose first book, Words and Things famously, and uniquely for a philosopher, prompted a leader in The...
,
Yukichi Fukuzawawas a Japanese author, writer, teacher, translator, entrepreneur and political theorist who founded Keio University. His ideas about government and social institutions made a lasting impression on a rapidly changing Japan during the Meiji Era...
and
Frederic MaitlandFrederic William Maitland was an English jurist and historian, generally regarded as the modern father of English legal history...
.
Another strand in his work addresses the role of particular inventions in transforming history.
The Glass Bathyscaphe: How Glass Changed the World (2002), co-authored with Gerry Martin, discusses how the invention and use of glass facilitated European dominion overseas. Macfarlane and his mother Iris co-wrote
Green Gold: The Empire of Tea (2003), presenting the thesis that tea contributed to English prosperity, preventing epidemics by requiring the boiling of water and by promoting antibiotic effects.
2005's
Letters to Lily distils Macfarlane's reflections on a life of research, as addressed to his granddaughter Lily Bee. As a non-academic work it brought Macfarlane to the attention of a wider, non-scholarly audience.
Macfarlane’s work has been widely read and referenced by his contemporaries. Critics have challenged the role he ascribes to English institutions in the establishment of modernity, and his moral
relativismRelativism is the idea that some elements or aspects of experience or culture are relative to, i.e., dependent on, other elements or aspects.Common statements that might be considered relativistic include:* "That's true for you but not for me."...
as a champion of modernity who nonetheless affirms the validity of non-Western institutions.