This is a bit off list, but I am sad to report last Friday night the
passing of anthropologist Ashley Montagu, one of the great scholars of
the 20th century, at age 95. His MAN'S MOST DANGEROUS MYTH, published
in 1942 at the height of Nazism was the first to argue that race was a
social construct not determinative of intelligence or behavior. His
NATURAL SUPERIORITY OF WOMEN (1953) was among the foundational documents
of modern feminism, and the only one written by a man. He coauthored
the UNESCO manifesto on race, and 75 books and thousands of articles on
race, gender, aging, violence, human origins, anatomy, and practically
every other topic in the social sciences, biological sciences, and
humanities. Ironically, his best known book might have been about a
small cultural curiosity, THE ELEPHANT MAN. Scholars with such breadth
of knowledge and having such a major impact in so many areas of public
life are few. I had the honor of knowing him for his last decade, of
enjoying his intelligence and good humor, and of publishing the last
editions of the first two books mentioned above. We will miss him.
mitch allen
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