Charles William Merton Hart (1905–1976) was a

social anthropologist Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

and sociologist best known for his study of the

Tiwi people The Tiwi people (or Tunuvivi) are one of the many Aboriginal Australian, Aboriginal groups of Australia. Nearly 2,000 Tiwi people live on Bathurst Island (Northern Territory), Bathurst and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Islands, ...

of the Bathurst and Melville Islands (or

Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island, Bathurst I ...

) in

north Australia North Australia was (1) the name of a briefly proclaimed but never established British colony and (2) a former part of the Northern Territory of Australia administered as "North Australian". Colony (1846–1847) A colony of North Australia wa ...

during the 1920s. He has been described as a "legendary ethnographer".

Education and career

Hart studied anthropology at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. His first teaching position was at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, from 1932. From 1947 to 1959 he was at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, and from 1959 to 1969 at

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

. In 1969 he retired to North America, taking a visiting position at

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

in 1971 which he held until his death.

Research and publications

Together with Arnold R. Pilling, Hart authored ''The Tiwi of North Australia'' (New York, 1960), a classic work of

ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

based in part on his fieldwork among the Tiwi in 1928–1929. At the heart of the study was the manner in which older men maintained authority over younger men and over women through their power to provide brides. This was one of the first participant-observation studies of a population of

Australian Aborigines Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 years ...

still functioning as a hunter-gatherer society. The third edition (1988) was revised by Jane Goodale. In 1947 and 1948 Hart conducted sociological research into industrial relations in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

on behalf of the Institute of Industrial Relations of the University of Toronto.

Criticism

Hart is now sometimes noted for his failure to take proper account of the role of grandmothers in hunter-gatherer society, dismissing elderly women as "a terrible nuisance" and "physically quite revolting".Natalie Angier,
Weighing the Grandma Factor; In Some Societies, It's a Matter of Life and Death
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Nov. 5, 2002. Accessed 7 April 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Charles William Merton 1905 births 1976 deaths University of Sydney alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Academic staff of Istanbul University Wichita State University faculty 20th-century Australian anthropologists Australian expatriates in the United States Australian expatriates in Turkey Expatriate academics in Turkey