Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah

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Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah
Born January 16, 1929 (1929-01-16) (age 79)
Sri Lanka
Residence Sri Lanka
United States
Nationality Sri Lankan
Ethnicity Tamil
Fields Social anthropologist
Institutions University of Ceylon
University of Cambridge
University of Chicago
Harvard University
Alma mater University of Ceylon
Cornell University
Notable awards Balzan Prize (1997)
Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize (1998)
Religious stance Christian

Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah (born January 16, 1929)[1] is a leading social anthropologist[2] and Esther and Sidney Rabb Professor of Anthropology at Harvard University.[3] He specializes in studies of Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Tamils, as well as the anthropology of religion and politics.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Tambiah was born in Sri Lanka to a Christian Tamil family. After finishing his undergraduate education at the University of Ceylon in 1951, he attended Cornell University, graduating in 1954 with a PhD.[2] He began teaching anthropology at the University of Ceylon in 1955, where he remained until 1960. After a few years as the UNESCO Teaching Assistant for Thailand, he taught at the University of Cambridge from 1963 to 1972 and at the University of Chicago from 1973 to 1976.[1] He joined the faculty of Harvard University in 1976.[3]

His earliest published work was an ethno-historical study of modern and medieval Thailand. He then became interested in the comparative study of the ways Western categories of magic, science and religion have been used by anthropologists to make sense of other cultures which do not use this three-part system. After the outbreak of civil war in Sri Lanka, he began to study the role of competing religious and ethnic identities in that country. At Harvard, he has trained several generations of anthropologists in a number of fields. He also serves on the National Research Council's Committee for International Conflict Resolution.[2]

[edit] Awards

In November 1997, Tambiah received the prestigious Balzan Prize[2] for "penetrating social-anthropological analysis of the fundamental problems of ethnic violence in South East Asia and original studies on the dynamics of Buddhist societies [that] have opened the way to an innovative and rigorous social-anthropological approach to the internal dynamics of different civilizations".[4] A month later, the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland awarded him its highest recognition,[5] the Huxley Memorial Medal and Lecture.[6] In September 1998, he was awarded the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize by the city of Fukuoka, capital of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.[7]

In 2000, he became a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy,[8] a title given to those who have "attained high international standing" in a discipline in the humanities or social sciences.[9]

[edit] Selected publications

  • Buddhism and the Spirit Cults in North-East Thailand. Cambridge University Press, 1970. ISBN 0-521-09958-7.
  • World Conqueror and World Renouncer : A Study of Buddhism and Polity in Thailand against a Historical Background (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology). Cambridge University Press, 1976. ISBN 0-521-29290-5.
  • Magic, Science and Religion and the Scope of Rationality (Lewis Henry Morgan Lectures). Cambridge University Press, 1990. ISBN 0-521-37631-9.
  • Buddhism Betrayed? : Religion, Politics, and Violence in Sri Lanka (A Monograph of the World Institute for Development Economics Research). University of Chicago Press, 1992. ISBN 0-226-78950-0.
  • Leveling Crowds : Ethnonationalist Conflicts and Collective Violence in South Asia. (Comparative Studies in Religion and Society). University of California Press, 199. ISBN 0-520-20642-8.
  • Edmund Leach: An Anthropological Life. Cambridge University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-521-52102-5.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Anthony, Peterson. Stanley Tambiah. Anthropology Biography Web. Emuseum @ Minnesota State University, Mankato. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
  2. ^ a b c d Gewertz, Ken. "Stanley Tambiah To Be Awarded Balzan Prize For Groundbreaking Work on Ethnic Violence", Harvard Gazette, 1997-10-23. Retrieved on 2007-08-19. 
  3. ^ a b "Harvard Foundation unveils portraits: Six minority faculty and administrators recognized and recognizable", Harvard Gazette, 2005-05-12. Retrieved on 2007-08-19. 
  4. ^ Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah. Fondazione Internazionale Balzan. Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
  5. ^ Honours. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
  6. ^ Huxley Memorial Medal and Lecture: Prior Recipients. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
  7. ^ Gewertz, Ken. "Stanley Tambiah To Be Awarded Fukuoka Asian Cultural Prize", Harvard Gazette, 1998-08-06. Retrieved on 2007-08-19. 
  8. ^ "British Academy elects Tambiah", Harvard Gazette, 2000-11-09. Retrieved on [[2007-08-19]]. 
  9. ^ The Fellowship of the British Academy. The British Academy (2006). Retrieved on 2007-08-19.