Marvin Harris (August 18 1927 – October 25 2001) was an American anthropologist and highly influential in the development of cultural materialism. In his work, he drew largely on the theories of Thomas Malthus and Karl Marx, combining Malthus' focus on the influence of population growth on the formation of social institutions, and Marx's focus on the means of production regarding the same. Over the course of his life, Harris drew both a loyal following and a considerable amount of criticism.

Personal information

In 1953, he received his PhD from Columbia University, where he also taught and served as chairman of the anthropology department before going to the University of Florida. Harris joined UF's anthropology department in 1981 and retired in 2000. He was the Anthropology Graduate Research Professor Emeritus there. Dr. Harris also served as the Chair of the General Anthropology Division of the American Anthropological Association. Harris was the author of 17 books. His research spanned the topics of race, evolution and culture, and often focused on Latin America and Brazil. ^*

Articles

• Big Bust on Morningside Heights originally published in The Nation June 10, 1968 757-63

Books

• The Rise of Anthropological Theory: A History of Theories of Culture ISBN 0759101337
• The Riddles of Culture ISBN 0679724680
• Good to Eat: Riddles of Food and Culture (Original Title The Sacred Cow and the Abominable Pig ISBN 1577660153
• Cannibals and Kings : Origins of Cultures ISBN 067972849X
• Our Kind : Who We Are, Where We Came From, Where We Are Going ISBN 0060919906
• Theories of Culture in Postmodern Times (AltaMira Press, 1999) ISBN 0761990216
• Why Nothing Works : The Anthropology of Daily Life (Original Title America Now: the Anthropology of a Changing Culture) ISBN 0671635778
• Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture ISBN 0759101353
• Culture, People, Nature: An Introduction to General Anthropology (7th Edition) ISBN 0673990931
• Cultural Anthropology (7th Edition) ISBN 0205454437
• Patterns of Race in the Americas ISBN 0313223599
• Death, Sex, and Fertility: Population Regulation in Preindustrial and Developing Societies ISBN 0231062702
• Town and Country in Brazil ISBN 0404505872
• The Cultural Ecology of India's Sacred Cattle
• Portugal's African Wards: A first-hand report on labor and education in Mozambique
• The Insider/Outsider Debate (editor) ISBN 0803937385
• Food and Evolution: Toward a Theory of Human Food Habits (editor) ISBN 0877226687

External links

• Marvin Harris Biography.
• Marvin Harris Essay.
• Cultural MaterialismCultural Materialism

1927 births | 2001 deaths | American anthropologists | Theories of history | Columbia University alumni

Marvin Harris | Marvin Harris | Marvin Harris | Marvin Harris