Audrey Richards
Encyclopedia
Audrey Isabel Richards was a pioneering British woman social anthropologist who worked mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Audrey was the second of four girls born to a well-connected family in London
, England
. Her father, Sir Henry Erle Richards, was posted in Calcutta, India
, where she spent her early childhood, and later from 1911 to 1922 was Chichele Professor of Public International Law
at Oxford
. Richards was educated at Downe House School and Newnham College, Cambridge
, where she read biology
. She served as a relief worker in Germany
for two years before returning to England and beginning graduate work. She received her doctorate
in 1931 from the London School of Economics
, where she was supervised by Malinowski.
Richards conducted fieldwork in Zambia
(then Northern Rhodesia), in 1930-31, 1933–34, and 1957. where she worked primarily among the Bemba
. Later, Richards worked in the Transvaal
region of South Africa
in 1939-40 and in Uganda
intermittently between 1950 and 1955. She later carried out an ethnographic study of the village of Elmdon
, Essex
, England, where she lived for many years.
Audrey Richards' careful studies of daily life set a new standard for field research and opened a door for nutritional anthropology by concentrating on practical problems and working interdisciplinarily. Richards is probably best known for her work Chisungu (1956), a study of girls' initiation rites. She is also regarded as a founder of the field of nutritional anthropology.
Though she was widely regarded for her academic accomplishements, Richards never held a tenured chair in anthropology. She held lectureships at the London School of Economics, the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, and the University of London
. She also held various positions in the Colonial Office, participating in the formation of the Colonial Social Science Research Council (1944). In 1950 she became the first director of the East African Institute of Social Research (Makarere College, Kampala, Uganda). In 1956 she returned to her alma mater at Newnham College as lecturer and director of the African Studies Centre at Cambridge. She served as president of the Royal Anthropological Institute and of the African Studies Association of the UK. Richards received the C.B.E.
in 1955 and became a fellow of the British Academy
in 1967. She died in 1984 near Midhurst
, West Sussex
, England.
Audrey was the second of four girls born to a well-connected family in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Her father, Sir Henry Erle Richards, was posted in Calcutta, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, where she spent her early childhood, and later from 1911 to 1922 was Chichele Professor of Public International Law
Chichele Professor of Public International Law
One of the statutory Chichele Professorships established at All Souls College, Oxford, this chair was established in 1859 as the Chichele Professor of International Law and Diplomacy. Its name was later changed to the Chichele Professor of Public International Law....
at Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. Richards was educated at Downe House School and Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick, and was the second Cambridge college to admit women after Girton College...
, where she read biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
. She served as a relief worker in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
for two years before returning to England and beginning graduate work. She received her doctorate
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in 1931 from the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, where she was supervised by Malinowski.
Richards conducted fieldwork in Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
(then Northern Rhodesia), in 1930-31, 1933–34, and 1957. where she worked primarily among the Bemba
Bemba people
The Bemba belong to a large group of peoples mainly in the Northern, Luapula and Copperbelt Provinces of Zambia who trace their origins to the Luba and Lunda states of the upper Congo basin, in what became Katanga Province in southern Congo-Kinshasa...
. Later, Richards worked in the Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
region of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in 1939-40 and in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
intermittently between 1950 and 1955. She later carried out an ethnographic study of the village of Elmdon
Elmdon
Elmdon is a village in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, near the boundary with Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. The undulating nature of the local topography differentiates it from countryside to the north which is predominantly fenland and flat....
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England, where she lived for many years.
Audrey Richards' careful studies of daily life set a new standard for field research and opened a door for nutritional anthropology by concentrating on practical problems and working interdisciplinarily. Richards is probably best known for her work Chisungu (1956), a study of girls' initiation rites. She is also regarded as a founder of the field of nutritional anthropology.
Though she was widely regarded for her academic accomplishements, Richards never held a tenured chair in anthropology. She held lectureships at the London School of Economics, the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, and the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. She also held various positions in the Colonial Office, participating in the formation of the Colonial Social Science Research Council (1944). In 1950 she became the first director of the East African Institute of Social Research (Makarere College, Kampala, Uganda). In 1956 she returned to her alma mater at Newnham College as lecturer and director of the African Studies Centre at Cambridge. She served as president of the Royal Anthropological Institute and of the African Studies Association of the UK. Richards received the C.B.E.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1955 and became a fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
in 1967. She died in 1984 near Midhurst
Midhurst
Midhurst is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, with a population of 4,889 in 2001. The town is situated on the River Rother and is home to the ruin of the Tudor Cowdray House and the stately Victorian Cowdray Park...
, West Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England.
Select Publications
- Richards, Audrey. (1932) Hunger and work in a savage tribe: a functional study of nutrition among the Southern Bantu. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
- Richards, Audrey. (1939) Land, Labour, and Diet in Northern Rhodesia: and economic study of the Bemba tribe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Richards, Audrey. (1956) Chisungu: a girl's initiation ceremony among the Bemba of Northern Rhodesia. London: Faber.
- Strathern, MarilynMarilyn StrathernDame Ann Marilyn Strathern, DBE, FBA is a British anthropologist who was Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge from 1998 until her retirement in 2009...
and Audrey Richards. (1981) Kinship at the Core: An Anthropology of Elmdon, a Village in North-west Essex in the Nineteen-Sixties. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
External links
- "On Fieldwork", a talk given by Audrey Richards c. 1982 in CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
- Catalogue of the Richards papers at the Archives Division of the London School of EconomicsLondon School of EconomicsThe London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
.