Benedict, Ruth Fulton

Benedict, Ruth Fulton,1887–1948, American anthropologist, b. New York City, grad. Vassar, 1909, Ph.D. Columbia, 1923. She was a student and later a colleague of FranzBoasat Columbia, where she taught from 1924. She did fieldwork among Native Americans and studied contemporary European and Asian cultures. Her works emphasize the concepts of cultural configuration, national character, and the role of culture in individual personality formation. Her widely read books helped popularize the concept ofcultureand attacked racism and ethnocentrism. She is the author ofConcept of the Guardian Spirit in North America(1923),Patterns of Culture(1934),Zuni Mythology(1935),Race: Science and Politics(rev. ed. 1943), andThe Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture(1946). A collection of her work and biographical data was edited by Margaret Mead under the titleAn Anthropologist at Work(1959, repr. 1966).

See biography by M. Mead (1974).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia,6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on:Anthropology: Biographies