Michelle Rosaldo
Encyclopedia
Michelle Zimbalist Rosaldo (1944, New York
- 1981, Philippines
), known to her friends and colleagues as Shelly, was a social, linguistic, and psychological anthropologist famous for her studies of the Ilongot
tribe in the Philippines and for her pioneering role in women's studies and the anthropology of gender.
(Harvard College
's sister school, formally merged with Harvard in 1999) where she concentrated in English literature. She spent a summer among the Maya
in southern Mexico
as part of a field trip arranged by Evon Z. Vogt
. After receiving her AB, she began graduate study at Harvard in social anthropology
.
Michelle Rosaldo and her husband, anthropologist Renato Rosaldo
, both carried out their dissertation fieldwork with the Ilongot tribe in northern Luzon
, the Philippines, during 1967-1969. Michelle's research focused on Ilongot concepts of emotion (an exercise in ethnopsychology, the study of local or folk concepts of mind), while Renato collected material on the history of Ilongot headhunting
practices, which were dying out at the time of their research. Michelle received her PhD in social anthropology from Harvard in 1972. After completing their PhDs, Michelle and Renato Rosaldo were both hired at Stanford University
. The couple returned again to the Ilongot in 1974 for further research, published as Knowledge and Passion (1980).
Michelle Rosaldo wrote or edited several important works in the anthropology of women and gender relations and co-founded the Program in Feminist Studies at Stanford University. In 1979 she received Stanford's Dinkelspiel Award for outstanding service to undergraduate education.
Michelle Rosaldo died from an accidental fall while conducting fieldwork in the Philippines in 1981, cutting short one of the brightest anthropology careers of her generation. She was survived by her husband Renato Rosaldo and their two sons.
The Michelle Z. Rosaldo Summer Field Research Grant was later established in her memory at the Department of Anthropology at Stanford University to provide funding for undergraduate students to conduct fieldwork.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
- 1981, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
), known to her friends and colleagues as Shelly, was a social, linguistic, and psychological anthropologist famous for her studies of the Ilongot
Ilongot
Ilongot can refer to:*Ilongot language*Ilongot people...
tribe in the Philippines and for her pioneering role in women's studies and the anthropology of gender.
Life
Born in New York in 1944, Michelle Zimbalist attended Radcliffe CollegeRadcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
(Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
's sister school, formally merged with Harvard in 1999) where she concentrated in English literature. She spent a summer among the Maya
Maya peoples
The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term...
in southern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
as part of a field trip arranged by Evon Z. Vogt
Evon Z. Vogt
Evon Zartman Vogt, Jr. was an American cultural anthropologist. Born in Gallup, New Mexico, he was a professor at Harvard University his entire career, serving as Chairman of the Department of Anthropology, Co-Master of Kirkland House , and Chairman of the Center for Latin American Studies...
. After receiving her AB, she began graduate study at Harvard in social anthropology
Social anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
.
Michelle Rosaldo and her husband, anthropologist Renato Rosaldo
Renato Rosaldo
-Life:He graduated from Harvard University with a Ph.D. in 1971.He is emeritus professor at Stanford University.He teaches at New York University, and is a New York Institute for the Humanities Fellow....
, both carried out their dissertation fieldwork with the Ilongot tribe in northern Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, the Philippines, during 1967-1969. Michelle's research focused on Ilongot concepts of emotion (an exercise in ethnopsychology, the study of local or folk concepts of mind), while Renato collected material on the history of Ilongot headhunting
Headhunting
Headhunting is the practice of taking a person's head after killing them. Headhunting was practised in historic times in parts of China, India, Nigeria, Nuristan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Borneo, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Micronesia, Melanesia, New Zealand, and the Amazon Basin, as...
practices, which were dying out at the time of their research. Michelle received her PhD in social anthropology from Harvard in 1972. After completing their PhDs, Michelle and Renato Rosaldo were both hired at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. The couple returned again to the Ilongot in 1974 for further research, published as Knowledge and Passion (1980).
Michelle Rosaldo wrote or edited several important works in the anthropology of women and gender relations and co-founded the Program in Feminist Studies at Stanford University. In 1979 she received Stanford's Dinkelspiel Award for outstanding service to undergraduate education.
Michelle Rosaldo died from an accidental fall while conducting fieldwork in the Philippines in 1981, cutting short one of the brightest anthropology careers of her generation. She was survived by her husband Renato Rosaldo and their two sons.
The Michelle Z. Rosaldo Summer Field Research Grant was later established in her memory at the Department of Anthropology at Stanford University to provide funding for undergraduate students to conduct fieldwork.
Selected publications
- Rosaldo, Michelle Z. (1971) Context and metaphor in Ilongot oral tradition. PhD thesis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Archives.
- Rosaldo, Michelle Zimbalist. (1980) Knowledge and Passion: Ilongot Notions of Self and Social Life. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Rosaldo, Michelle Z. (1984) “Toward an anthropology of self and feeling.” In Culture Theory: essays on mind, self, and emotion. R. A. Shweder and R. A. LeVine, editors. pp. 137–157. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Keohane, Nannerl O., Michelle Z. Rosaldo, and Barbara C. Gelpi, editors. (1982) Feminist theory: a critique of ideology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Lamphere, Louise and Michelle Zimbalist Rosaldo, editors. (1974) Women, Culture, and Society. Stanford University Press. Stanford, California.
- Lugo, Alejandro and Bill Maurer, editors. (2000) Gender Matters: Rereading Michelle Z. Rosaldo. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.