Charles Wagley (1913 – November 25, 1991) was an American

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

and leading pioneer in the development of Brazilian anthropology. Wagley began graduate work in the 1930s at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where he fell under the spell of

Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and ethnomusicologist. He was a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the mov ...

and what later became known as the " historical particularist” mode of anthropology. Wagley completed his dissertation (''Economics of a Guatemalan Village)'' in 1942, but had already begun exploring other field sites in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Along with

Claude Lévi-Strauss Claude Lévi-Strauss ( ; ; 28 November 1908 – 30 October 2009) was a Belgian-born French anthropologist and ethnologist whose work was key in the development of the theories of structuralism and structural anthropology. He held the chair o ...

, Wagley was one of the chief exponents in Brazilian anthropology. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Wagley’s familiarity with Brazil’s agriculture industry led him to urge the US government to channel aid to

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

to facilitate rubber production. During this time, he conducted long trips in the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

, researching specifically among the Tapirapé of central Brazil and with the Tenetehara people in the eastern portion of the country. Wagley returned to Columbia and took several key

leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

roles. Also teaching in Columbia at the time was

Julian Steward Julian Haynes Steward (January 31, 1902 – February 6, 1972) was an American anthropologist known best for his role in developing "the concept and method" of cultural ecology, as well as a scientific theory of culture change. Early life and ed ...

, another former student of Boas’ and whose idea of areal studies greatly impacted a new shift in American anthropology. Wagley would also become the director for the Latin American Institute at Columbia. He later left Columbia for an Emeritus position at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, where he spearheaded the development of the Center for Tropical Conservation and Development. He was a member of both the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

Contributions

Wagley would borrow expound on the concept of area studies in an influential paper presented at one of the first social science meetings devoted to the Caribbean region. Titled “Plantation America: A Culture Sphere,” Wagley’s short paper sets forth a number of criteria used to establish varying “culture spheres” as frames of reference. The idea was central to redistributing area studies in the New World, and divided it up into three culture spheres: Euro-America, Indo-America, and Plantation-America.Wagley, Charles. 1957. "Plantation America: A Culture Sphere," in ''Caribbean Studies, A Symposium'' edited by Vera Rubin, pp. 3–13. The criteria Wagley used to categorize these spheres demonstrates a new research design in American anthropology. Taking into account

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

, the environment, linguistic material, local and specific histories, and especially modes of production, Wagley belonged to a generation of academics which united British social anthropology and American cultural anthropology. For the Caribbean, at least, this shift is important. Until then, British social science of the Caribbean and

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

followed a modified version of structural-functionalism known as

cultural pluralism Cultural pluralism is a term used when smaller groups within a larger society maintain their unique cultural identities, whereby their values and practices are accepted by the dominant culture, provided such are consistent with the laws and value ...

. This theoretical stance had popular support among West Indian intellectuals and

Independence movements Below are the articles listing active separatist movements by continent: * List of active separatist movements in Africa *List of active separatist movements in Asia *List of active separatist movements in Europe * List of active separatist m ...

, but was seen by others as a justification for

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

between

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

s through the denial of

class conflict In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

s and class dynamics among ethnic groups. As a result, cultural pluralist thinkers were reluctant to consider modes of production or economic histories on par with

social institutions An institution is a humanly devised structure of rules and norms that shape and constrain social behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions and ...

such as

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

. With the idea of “culture sphere,” the work of Wagley, along with Steward, Sidney Mintz, Eric Wolf, and others, helped construct a much more comparative approach for Caribbean studies.

Published works

*Wagley, Charles. 1957. "Plantation America: A Culture Sphere," in ''Caribbean Studies, A Symposium'' edited by Vera Rubin, p. 3–13. *Wagley, Charles. 1959. "On the Concept of Social Race in the Americas" in ''Actas del XXXIII Congreso Internacional de Americanistas, San Jose, 20–27 Julio 1958, Tomo 1''. San Jose, Costa Rica: Lehman, p. 403–417. *Wagley, Charles. 1963. ''An Introduction to Brazil''. New York, Columbia University Press. *Wagley, Charles. 1976. ''Amazon Town: A Study of Man in the Tropics''. London, Oxford University Press. *Wagley, Charles. 1977. ''Welcome of Tears: The Tapirapé Indians of Central Brazil''. Waveland Press 1983. .

References

External links

Charles Wagley Papers Digital Collection at the University of Florida

Charles Wagley interview
Oral History Collection — University of Florida {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagley, Charles 1913 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American anthropologists Members of the American Philosophical Society