Michael E. Harkin
Encyclopedia
Michael Eugene Harkin is an American anthropologist specializing in the ethnohistory
of indigenous people of the western U.S. and Canada.
From 1985 to 1987 he conducted fieldwork in the Heiltsuk
community of Bella Bella
, B.C. More recently he has worked with the Nuu-chah-nulth (formerly "Nootka") people of Vancouver Island
, and several groups of the northern Great Plains.
He received his Ph.D. in 1988 from the University of Chicago
, where he studied with Raymond D. Fogelson
, Nancy Munn, and Marshall Sahlins
.
His early monograph on the Heiltsuks employed a dialogic perspective to understand issues of power and representation of both self and other. This was influenced by Lévi-Straussian structuralism and the historical structuralism of Sahlins. In more recent works, he has pursued a range of interests, primarily in the analysis of indigenous culture in a historical context. His work on revitalization movements revisits one of the classic ethnohistorical theories. He has also contributed to the literature on ethnoecology, arguing that traditional Northwest Coast ecological models expressed via ritual and myth non-linear system dynamics.
He is professor and chair of anthropology at the University of Wyoming
. Previously he taught at Emory University
and Montana State University
. In 2007 he was a visiting professor at Shanghai University
.
He is editor of the journal Ethnohistory. He is theme editor for cultural anthropology of UNESCO's Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems.
He has edited several important books on Native Americans and the environment, revitalization movements, and Northwest Coast ethnology.
He has published extensively on anthropological history and theory, especially the Boasian tradition, and the structuralism of Claude Lévi-Strauss
. He was a visiting fellow in Lévi-Strauss' laboratory in 1997.
He is currently working on a project on the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island, in which he argues that the visual and textual record of the coastal Algonquians represents the origin of a modern anthropological consciousness.
Ethnohistory
Ethnohistory is the study of ethnographic cultures and indigenous customs by examining historical records. It is also the study of the history of various ethnic groups that may or may not exist today....
of indigenous people of the western U.S. and Canada.
From 1985 to 1987 he conducted fieldwork in the Heiltsuk
Heiltsuk
The Heiltsuk are an Indigenous First Nations of the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the island communities of Bella Bella and Klemtu. The government of the Heiltsuk people is the Heiltsuk Nation...
community of Bella Bella
Bella Bella
Bella Bella may refer to:* Bella Bella, British Columbia, on Campbell Island, also known as Waglisla**Bella Bella Airport, airport north west of Bella Bella**Bella Bella Airport, airport east of Bella Bella...
, B.C. More recently he has worked with the Nuu-chah-nulth (formerly "Nootka") people of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, and several groups of the northern Great Plains.
He received his Ph.D. in 1988 from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, where he studied with Raymond D. Fogelson
Raymond D. Fogelson
Raymond D. Fogelson is an American anthropologist known for his research on American Indians of the southeastern United States, especially the Cherokee. He is considered a founder of the subdiscipline of ethnohistory....
, Nancy Munn, and Marshall Sahlins
Marshall Sahlins
Marshall David Sahlins is a prominent American anthropologist. He received both a Bachelors and Masters degree at the University of Michigan where he studied with Leslie White, and earned his Ph.D. at Columbia University in 1954 where his main intellectual influences included Karl Polanyi and...
.
His early monograph on the Heiltsuks employed a dialogic perspective to understand issues of power and representation of both self and other. This was influenced by Lévi-Straussian structuralism and the historical structuralism of Sahlins. In more recent works, he has pursued a range of interests, primarily in the analysis of indigenous culture in a historical context. His work on revitalization movements revisits one of the classic ethnohistorical theories. He has also contributed to the literature on ethnoecology, arguing that traditional Northwest Coast ecological models expressed via ritual and myth non-linear system dynamics.
He is professor and chair of anthropology at the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
. Previously he taught at Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
and Montana State University
Montana State University - Bozeman
Montana State University – Bozeman is a public university located in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's land-grant university and primary campus in the Montana State University System, which is part of the Montana University System...
. In 2007 he was a visiting professor at Shanghai University
Shanghai University
Shanghai University is a public, comprehensive university located in Shanghai, China. The university has the longest serving President; Chien Wei-zang since 1982 until he died in 2010. He was a well known scientist in China...
.
He is editor of the journal Ethnohistory. He is theme editor for cultural anthropology of UNESCO's Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems.
He has edited several important books on Native Americans and the environment, revitalization movements, and Northwest Coast ethnology.
He has published extensively on anthropological history and theory, especially the Boasian tradition, and the structuralism of Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss was a French anthropologist and ethnologist, and has been called, along with James George Frazer, the "father of modern anthropology"....
. He was a visiting fellow in Lévi-Strauss' laboratory in 1997.
He is currently working on a project on the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island, in which he argues that the visual and textual record of the coastal Algonquians represents the origin of a modern anthropological consciousness.