Regna Darnell
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Regna Darnell (born July 10, 1943,
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
) is an American-Canadian anthropologist and professor of Anthropology and First Nations Studies at the
University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...
, where she has founded the First Nations Studies Program.


Overview

Regna Darnell is an American-Canadian
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 ...
known for her linguistic anthropological fieldwork with the Plains
Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
of northern
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
and with southwestern
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
First Nations peoples as well as for her scholarship on the history of anthropology. Notable for her extensive contributions towards anthropology as a field of study, numerous awards and certifications have been presented in honor of her prestigious input.


Education

She attended
Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...
where she had received her B.A. in Anthropology and English in 1965. She continued to the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
, where she initially earned her M.A. in 1967, followed by her Ph.D. in 1969. Darnell was awarded the honorary degree of D.Litt. from the
University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...
in 2009. She was a student of A. Irving Hallowell.


Career and position

Darnell has conducted research/fieldwork in Saskatchewan, Northern Alberta, British Columbia, West Africa and Southern Ontario. Her career has displayed a focus towards language,
Indigenous Knowledge Traditional knowledge (TK), indigenous knowledge (IK), folk knowledge, and local knowledge generally refers to knowledge systems embedded in the cultural traditions of regional, indigenous, or local communities. Traditional knowledge include ...
, social change, mobility, traditional medicine, ecosystem health, identity and the history of anthropology. She was employed at the
University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...
from 1969 to 1990, where she achieved the title of professor in 1979. She relocated to the
University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...
, working as Chair of Anthropology from 1990 to 1993 and Director of the Center for Research and Teaching of Canadian Native Languages in 1992. Additionally, Darnell served as an educator affiliated in
Women's Studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...
and Feminist Research. Darnell remains incorporated in the centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism, in which she worked in cooperation with
McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...
from 1994 to 2010. She is also involved in numerous other disciplinary fields, including Environmental Health, Pathology, and worked in turn with the
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry The Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry is the combined medical school and dental school of the University of Western Ontario, a public university in London, Ontario, Canada. The medical education section is one of six in Ontario and one ...
since 2006. Serving as a Bicentennial Professor for Canadian studies and Anthropology in 2000, this added further institutional experience with Pierson College.


Recognition and awards

In early 2000, Darnell was awarded the Hellmuth Prize and was the first woman to gain this achievement. In 2004, she had received the Gene Weltfish Award for her service and contributions to anthropology. She received the Distinguished University Professor Award from the
University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...
in 2005, which recognizes sustained excellence in scholarship over a substantial career at Western. Darnell has been awarded the 2005 Anthropological Association's Franz Boas Award for Exemplary Service to Anthropology. The American Philosophical Society elected Darnell in 2004 for her excellence in linguistics and anthropology. Darnell is also the recipient of the 2007 Premier's Distinction Award for the Social Science and Humanities and the 2021-2022 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society for Ethnohistory.


Associations and societies

Darnell has previously resided as president of the Society for Humanistic Anthropology, the American Society of Ethnohistory, and the Northern American Association for the History of the Languages. Regna had chaired for the American Anthropological Associations Centennial Executive and Advisory Commissions in 2002. She served two terms as president of the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association, as well as a representative for faculty on the UWO Board of Governors between 2011 and 2015. She is one of five fellows for the
Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...
, as well as a member of 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 ...
.


Bibliography

* Darnell, Regna. (1971) ''Linguistic diversity in Canadian society'', Vol. 11. Edmonton; Champaign, IL: Linguistic Research. * Darnell, Regna. (1971) "The professionalization of American anthropology: A case study in the sociology of knowledge." ''Social Science Information'' 10.2: 83–103. * Darnell, Regna. (1974) "Correlates of Cree narrative performance." ''Explorations in the ethnography of speaking'', ed. by Richard Baumann and Joel Sherzer, pp. 315–336. * Darnell, Regna (1988) ''Daniel Garrison Brinton: The "Fearless Critic" of Philadelphia.'' Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Department of Anthropology. * Darnell, Regna (1990) ''Edward Sapir: Linguist, Anthropologist, Humanist.'' Berkeley: University of California Press. * Darnell, Regna. (1990) "Franz Boas, Edward Sapir, and the Americanist text tradition." ''Historiographia linguistica'' 17.1-2: 129–144. * Darnell, Regna (1998) ''And Along Came Boas: Continuity and Revolution in Americanist Anthropology.'' John Benjamins Publishing Company. * Darnel, Regna (1999) ''Theorizing the Americanist Tradition.'' University of Toronto Press. * Darnell, Regna (2001) ''Invisible Genealogies: A History of American Anthropology.'' Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. * Darnell, Regna. (2002) "Occupation is not a Cross‐Cultural Universal: Some Reflections From an Ethnographer." ''Journal of Occupational Science'' 9.1: 5–11. * Darnell, Regna (2006) "Keeping the Faith: A Legacy of Native American Ethnography, Ethnohistory, and Psychology." In: ''New Perspectives on Native North America: Cultures, Histories, and Representations,'' ed. by Sergei A. Kan and Pauline Turner Strong, pp. 3–16. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. * Darnell, Regna (2010) ''Edward Sapir: Linguist, Anthropologist, Humanist.'' University of Nebraska Press. * Darnell, Regna. ''The History of Anthropology: A Critical Window on the Discipline in North America.'' Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2021. 398 pages. .


Summaries


''Invisible Genealogies (2001)''

Invisible Genealogies surrounds the theoretical and historical contexts of anthropology in academia through the course of its existence in North America. This self-reflexive publication analyzes the indigenous population of North American in correlation to anthropology, as well as the incorporation of various renowned anthropologists such as Franz Boas,
Clifford Geertz Clifford James Geertz (; August 23, 1926 – October 30, 2006) was an American anthropologist who is remembered mostly for his strong support for and influence on the practice of symbolic anthropology and who was considered "for three decades&n ...
and Claude Levi-Strauss.


''Edward Sapir: Linguist, Anthropologist, Humanist (2010)''

This biographical novel surrounds the process, approaches and methodologies undergone by linguist
Edward Sapir Edward Sapir (; January 26, 1884 – February 4, 1939) was an American anthropologist-linguistics, linguist, who is widely considered to be one of the most important figures in the development of the discipline of linguistics in the United States ...
. This entails his research findings, incorporation of fieldwork, and associated theoretical framework included within his experiences. These are correlated to Darnell's own, including her personal perspectives and experiences in relation.


''Theorizing the American Tradition (1999)''

This collection of articles produced by over 25 prestigious anthropologists comprises a novel summarizing contemporary perspectives on the contributions of anthropology as a discipline. The book surrounds the history of anthropology, linguistics, and Native American past.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darnell, Regna 1943 births Living people Canadian anthropologists Canadian women anthropologists 21st-century Canadian women scientists 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American women scientists Bryn Mawr College alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Members of the American Philosophical Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada