description Roger Keesing Overview
Roger Keesing was an anthropologist and linguist whose long-term fieldwork among the Kwaio of Malaita in the Solomon Islands began in 1962. He studied Kwaio kinship, language, religion, politics, colonial history, and struggles for cultural autonomy, and produced work including a Kwaio dictionary and grammar. His broader publications included Cultural Anthropology: A Contemporary Perspective, a general text on cultural anthropology, as well as studies of Melanesian society and history.
help Roger Keesing FAQ
Where did Roger Keesing conduct his best-known fieldwork?
Keesing began long-term fieldwork among the Kwaio of Malaita in the Solomon Islands in 1962. He studied their kinship, language, religion, politics, colonial history, and efforts to preserve cultural autonomy.
What subjects did Roger Keesing study among the Kwaio?
His research examined how kinship, ritual, political authority, and language were connected in Kwaio society. He also documented the effects of colonial rule and later struggles over cultural self-determination.
What is Cultural Anthropology: A Contemporary Perspective?
It is a major anthropology textbook by Keesing, first published in 1976. The book synthesized topics including kinship, religion, ecology, exchange, political organization, and cultural change.
Was Roger Keesing also a linguist?
Yes. His anthropological work treated language as part of social organization rather than as an isolated technical system. His Kwaio research therefore combined linguistic analysis with ethnography and political history.
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