"THE PROPER STUDY"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 18, Issue 463, 7 May 1948, Page 16

"THE PROPER STUDY"

An Anthropologist Discusses His Subject

] A special "Listener"

|| interview by

A. R. D.

FAIRBURN

|WT has become almost platitudinous to talk about the "export of brains" from New Zealand. We take it almost for granted that New Zealanders with intellectual gifts who go abroad are like retired prize-fighters: they "never come back." If some of us find this a disturbing thought, we should reflect that in many such instances New le TS ae -_-

#flaieania Cvula OL possibly have provided the necessary conditions in which a talent or an intellectual gift could have been profitably

Professor Raymond Firth, who occupies tlre chair of anthropology at London University, is an- Aucklander by birth. I cannot imagine that his particular. gifts could have been brought to fruition if he had stayed in New Zealand. Nor can I think that if he were to return now, the necessary scope and opportunities could be made available for him. In his case, as in many others, there is good reason for us to congratulate ourselves on having failed to keep a good man down. Raymond Firth was once a pupil at the Auckland Grammar Schoél. One fateful day he came across a copy of Maning’s Old New Zealand in a local bookshop, and (in retrospect) that seems to have settled the questioh of career for him. He dates his interest in anthropology from the time he read that New Zealand classic, and found questions arising in his mind that called for an answer. ‘Those questions have continued to beckon to him (backing away, tantalisingly) throughout the years, and he has followed them-first to London, where he gained his doctorate of philosophy in 1927; then to the remote island of Tikopia in the Pacific; then to Sydney; and back again to London. In Tikopia he spent a year studying the way of life of the Solomon Islanders. In Sydney he acted as lecturer and acting-professor in the department of anthropology at the university. He returned to Britain to take the job of reader in social anthropology in the School of: Economics at London University. Then, in 1941, he received an appointment at the Admiralty, and became secretary to the Colonial Social Science Research Council. (If that sounds formidable, as it did to me at first, have patience: I shall try to explain what it means in a moment). He was ° appointed to the London University chair of anthropology in 1944, Professor Firth’s purpose in _ his recent visit to New Zealand (he left for London again on April 22) was to visit his parents, who live near Otahuhu, in Auckland. But he probably would not have seen them during this present year if important academic business had not called him to-Australia. With three other distinguished men (one of whom was Professor Oliphant, the nuclear physicist) he has been acting on an advisory committee set up in connection with the establishment of an Australian National University at Canberra. When I first heard the name of this

new institution mentioned, I feared for a moment that the Australians might be taking a leaf out of the Nazis’ book. But Professor Firth soon set my mind at rest. This University is to be of a special type. It will devote itself primarily to research and to post-gradu-ate teaching in scientific subjects. There will be four departments, covering (1) physical sciences (2) medical sciences (3) social sciences, and (4) civic studies,

Australia, it seems, is ‘taking a realistic view of the future: for science, rather than the humanities, will no doubt continue to dominate

* our lives. "The proper study of mankind," wrote Alexander Pope, to whom I apologise for breaking up his line in this fashion, "is man." But the anthropologist, as Professor Firth pointed out, runs up against certain difficulties when he proceeds, with due propriety, to that study. "Man" is a big subject. The anthropologist soon finds, when he begins to explore his material, that he moves into the territory of specific sciencespsychology, economics, political science and so on. This has naturally led anthropologists to specialise in some particular aspect of the general, allinclusive subject. Professor Firth himself has been drawn to social anthro-pology-the study of men in their social groups rather than man as an individual. I asked him to give me some indication of the present trends of development in social’ anthropology. "There are three main lines of development at the present time," he replied. "First, a more rigorous theoretical analysis is being made of the concepts relating to society and the details of the social structure. -Groups such as/the ‘lineage clan’ and their functioning in social life, their political and economic relationships in the simpler forms of society, are being inves- tigated very fully. "Secondly, the relationship between personality and culture, and the conditioning of the individual by his social environment, are being studied intensively, especially in America. Thirdly, anthropological knowledge is being applied for practical purposes, Research is being carried out on an increasingly wide scale in connection with problems with which governments are concerned-peasant development, colonial administration, and so on." . White Man’s Burden I confess that I had thought previously of anthropology in terms of the measurement of comparative cranial capacity in fossil skulls, the analysis of primitive magical rites, and other such matters Le 3g belong to the deep perspective of history and ‘pre-history, I had not entertained the notion of anthropology as a modern practical science. It seems, however, that a great field of work is opening up. It is fairly obvious, even to the layman, that the administration of colonial government among native races has not been carried out with complete success by the European nations. To use plainer language, it has in many

instances been botched. Crude attempts have- often been made _ to impose the theology of Little Bethel, the morality of Tooting, and the politics of the barrack square on races to whom these things meant less than nothing. The White Man’s Burden has been carried, on the whole, as clumsily as an inept store-hand will carry a sack of potatoes: that is to say, we have tried (with the best of intentions) to do something very like embracing itwhereas a native would probably carry it with ease balanced on his head. The long and the short of it is that in the past we have not used our heads sufficiently in dealing with subject native races. Social anthropology, regarded as a practical science, sets out to remedy this error. It is being taken very seriously by the British Government. Four years ago the Secretary of State for the Colonies created the Colonial Social Science Research Council to organise and administer research work-and Professor Firth, as I have already related, became the secretary of this new body. The Counci! includes among its members economists, anthropologists, linguists, psychologists, political scientists, and other experts--most of them university people who are interested in making available their specialised knowledge. Various research programmes have been begun, the funds for which’ have been provided by the British Government under the authority of the Colonial Welfare and Development Act. ’ "Are any other nations doing this sort of"work?" I asked Professor Firth. "Yes. You may be interested to know that New Zealand is the only country with Pacific responsibilities that so far has given no special training to its administrative officers. There is a ‘very general realisation. elsewhere that anthropological knowledge of all kinds is not only useful but essential in successfully administering colonial territories. As far as the British Empire is concerned, the _ initial expenses of research are being borne by the Home Government. But the local administration will in every case provide a large part of the cost of the actual development schemes that are undertaken .as a result of research." "What forms does this research take?" ‘I asked. "Well, for example, basic research is being done regarding the standards of living of African peoples, the social

origin of these standards and of the legal | systems operating, the relationship between these and European legal ‘systems, and so on. Land tenure rights are looked into-a very thorny question, this, as a rule. Women’s rightsthe system of economic incentives in cperation-the general scheme of ‘values’ of any particular society — these are the kind of material dealt with," I had kept my most difficult question till the last. "What about the Europeanising of native races?" I asked. "Are we to let their native ways of life be destroyed, and their whole pattern of life be broken up? Are we to link every native village with Hollywood, and let the people have motor cars, radio sets, lipstick, high heeled shoes, digest magazines, and all the rest of our paraphernalia?" "The only answer one can give to that question,’ said Professor Firth, "is that the decision doesn’t really lie in our hands. All over the world, the native peoples are already taking things into their own hands. All primitive peoples are now at least on the fringe of industrial civilisation, and have access to European consumer-goods. Up to a point, the institutions of Western society are being introduced. Nearly everywhere-and particularly in such places as Malaya and ‘West Africathere is a dynamic drive’ among the native peoples towards bettering themselves. They -are already selecting what they want from the wide choice of European consumer-goods. One finds a passionate interest in bicycles and other mechanical things. Many natives are enthusiastically teaching themselves typewriting. I’ve seen West Africans manufacturing lamps out of old cigarette tins, metal pipes and bottle-tops, and selling them for sixpence a time. They make a good job, too. P "In short. the time has gone past when we can ask the question, ‘Shall we change the "ways of life of native peoples.’ The only important question at this time of day is how." — "And in this our European governments have some responsibility?" "Certainly. We can’t stop the tide from flowing, but we can guide it to a certain extent. We can see that the impact of European civilisation is not so sharp as to cause injury. We can prevent mistakes from being repeated. | We can try to ensure that change and transition occur as smoothly as possible. And this is where social anthropology comes in. From now on, if all goes well, whatever administrative measures are applied to colonial territories will be applied in the light of the best knowledge available." :