Gender, race, and life writing in the ethnography of Ruth Landes in Bahia
American anthropologist Ruth Landes (1908-1991) conducted ethnographic fieldwork in candomblé centers, terreiros, in Salvador, Bahia, in 1938-1939. In her book City of Women (1947) and journal articles she recorded her observations on matrifocality and gender variance and portrayed Afro-Brazilian cu...
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| Language: | English |
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Société des américanistes
2024-09-01
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| Series: | Journal de la Société des Américanistes |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/23077 |
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| author | Sally Cole |
| author_facet | Sally Cole |
| author_sort | Sally Cole |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | American anthropologist Ruth Landes (1908-1991) conducted ethnographic fieldwork in candomblé centers, terreiros, in Salvador, Bahia, in 1938-1939. In her book City of Women (1947) and journal articles she recorded her observations on matrifocality and gender variance and portrayed Afro-Brazilian culture as dynamic and innovative. This article examines how Landes’s theory of culture, methods of fieldwork, and personal writing style went against the grain of the approaches taken by leading scholars at the time who treated Afro-Brazilian culture in terms of race-based psychological characteristics and “African survivals” and harshly critiqued her work. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9f9bdd5a7e5545f4bf26ed2fe3d5814c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0037-9174 1957-7842 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-09-01 |
| publisher | Société des américanistes |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal de la Société des Américanistes |
| spelling | doaj-art-9f9bdd5a7e5545f4bf26ed2fe3d5814c2025-02-05T15:55:01ZengSociété des américanistesJournal de la Société des Américanistes0037-91741957-78422024-09-01110112514610.4000/12kidGender, race, and life writing in the ethnography of Ruth Landes in BahiaSally ColeAmerican anthropologist Ruth Landes (1908-1991) conducted ethnographic fieldwork in candomblé centers, terreiros, in Salvador, Bahia, in 1938-1939. In her book City of Women (1947) and journal articles she recorded her observations on matrifocality and gender variance and portrayed Afro-Brazilian culture as dynamic and innovative. This article examines how Landes’s theory of culture, methods of fieldwork, and personal writing style went against the grain of the approaches taken by leading scholars at the time who treated Afro-Brazilian culture in terms of race-based psychological characteristics and “African survivals” and harshly critiqued her work.https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/23077candomblégenderethnographywomen in anthropologyRuth LandesBahia |
| spellingShingle | Sally Cole Gender, race, and life writing in the ethnography of Ruth Landes in Bahia Journal de la Société des Américanistes candomblé gender ethnography women in anthropology Ruth Landes Bahia |
| title | Gender, race, and life writing in the ethnography of Ruth Landes in Bahia |
| title_full | Gender, race, and life writing in the ethnography of Ruth Landes in Bahia |
| title_fullStr | Gender, race, and life writing in the ethnography of Ruth Landes in Bahia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gender, race, and life writing in the ethnography of Ruth Landes in Bahia |
| title_short | Gender, race, and life writing in the ethnography of Ruth Landes in Bahia |
| title_sort | gender race and life writing in the ethnography of ruth landes in bahia |
| topic | candomblé gender ethnography women in anthropology Ruth Landes Bahia |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/23077 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sallycole genderraceandlifewritingintheethnographyofruthlandesinbahia |