Edward H. Spicer
Encyclopedia
Edward H. "Ned" Spicer was an American anthropologist who specialized in studying American Indian
tribes of the American Southwest as a participant-observer
. Having much of his career at the University of Arizona
, he had a lifelong conviction that "one goes to ordinary people for cultural essentials," and he learned about the native tribes by living among them, and becoming part of their lives, not merely visiting them to elicit information by questions.
faculty in 1946. He was part of a movement based on participant observation
as the way to gain better comprehension of a people and their culture, and to gain data by living closely with a people. He specialized with the American Indians of the Southwest.
Spicer wrote nine books and countless articles and essays. He is perhaps best known for two books: The Yaquis: A Cultural History (1980) and Cycles of Conquest (1962) This book won the Southwestern Library Association's 1964 award for Best Book on the Southwest.
The Society for Applied Anthropology
honored Spicer with its Bronislaw Malinowski Award
in 1976. Spicer's acceptance speech at its meeting in St. Louis was entitled "Beyond Analysis and Explanation? Notes on the Life and Times of the Society for Applied Anthropology".
Spicer served as editor of the journal American Anthropologist
. He was elected president of the American Anthropological Association
.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
tribes of the American Southwest as a participant-observer
Participant observation
Participant observation is a type of research strategy. It is a widely used methodology in many disciplines, particularly, cultural anthropology, but also sociology, communication studies, and social psychology...
. Having much of his career at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, he had a lifelong conviction that "one goes to ordinary people for cultural essentials," and he learned about the native tribes by living among them, and becoming part of their lives, not merely visiting them to elicit information by questions.
Career
Spicer joined the University of ArizonaUniversity of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
faculty in 1946. He was part of a movement based on participant observation
Participant observation
Participant observation is a type of research strategy. It is a widely used methodology in many disciplines, particularly, cultural anthropology, but also sociology, communication studies, and social psychology...
as the way to gain better comprehension of a people and their culture, and to gain data by living closely with a people. He specialized with the American Indians of the Southwest.
Spicer wrote nine books and countless articles and essays. He is perhaps best known for two books: The Yaquis: A Cultural History (1980) and Cycles of Conquest (1962) This book won the Southwestern Library Association's 1964 award for Best Book on the Southwest.
The Society for Applied Anthropology
Society for Applied Anthropology
The Society for Applied Anthropology is a U.S.-based professional association for applied anthropology, established "to promote the integration of anthropological perspectives and methods in solving human problems throughout the world; to advocate for fair and just public policy based upon sound...
honored Spicer with its Bronislaw Malinowski Award
Bronislaw Malinowski Award
The Bronislaw Malinowski Award is an award given by the US-based Society for Applied Anthropology in honor of Bronisław Malinowski , an original member and strong supporter of the Society...
in 1976. Spicer's acceptance speech at its meeting in St. Louis was entitled "Beyond Analysis and Explanation? Notes on the Life and Times of the Society for Applied Anthropology".
Spicer served as editor of the journal American Anthropologist
American Anthropologist
American Anthropologist is the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association . It is known for publishing a wide range of work in anthropology, including articles on cultural, biological and linguistic anthropology and archeology...
. He was elected president of the American Anthropological Association
American Anthropological Association
The American Anthropological Association is a professional organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 11,000 members, the Arlington, Virginia based association includes archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, biological anthropologists, linguistic...
.
Marriage and family
Ned was married to Roslind Spicer, a noted anthropologist in her own right. Together they had three children, Barry, Penny, and Lawson. Spicer died in 1983 from cancer.Legacy and honors
- 1964, Southwestern Library Association Best Book on the Southwest
- 1976, Bronislaw Malinowski Award, Society for Applied Anthropology
- Asteroid named for him (2065 Spicer)