Franz Boas

In Praise of Open Minds

Noga Arikha

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Hardback

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English

Yale University
13 October 2025

Biography; Biography: general

Series: Jewish Lives

A thought-provoking account of the life and work of Franz Boas and his influential role in shaping modern anthropology

Franz Boas (1858–1942) is widely acknowledged for his pioneering work in the field of cultural anthropology. His rigorous studies of variations across societies were aimed at demonstrating that cultures and peoples were not shaped by biological predispositions. This book traces Boas's life and intellectual passions from his roots in Germany and his move to the United States in 1884, partly in response to growing antisemitism in Germany, to his work with First Nations communities and his influential role as a teacher, mentor, and engaged activist who inspired an entire generation.

Drawing from Boas's numerous but rarely read writings, Noga Arikha brings to life the man and the ideas he developed about the complex interplay of mind and culture, biology and history, language and myth. She provides a comprehensive picture of the cultural contexts in which he worked, of his personal and professional relationships, and of his revolutionary approach to fieldwork. He was celebrated in his lifetime for the cultural relativism he developed and the arguments he marshaled against entrenched racialism. But his was a constant battle, and Arikha shows how urgently relevant his voice and legacy have become again today.

By: Noga Arikha
Imprint: Yale University
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 210mm, Width: 146mm,
ISBN: 9780300241235
ISBN 10: 0300241232
Series: Jewish Lives
Pages: 280
Publication Date: 13 October 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Noga Arikha is a historian of ideas and philosopher, and Senior Expert at the European University Institute, Florence. Her books include The Ceiling Outside: The Science and Experience of the Disrupted Mind and Passions and Tempers: A History of the Humours.

Reviews for Franz Boas: In Praise of Open Minds

“Noga Arikha presents a wonderfully three-dimensional portrait of Franz Boas: family man, secular German Jew, cosmopolitan polymath, scientific anti-racist, a model of empathy and tolerance, and a beacon of light in challenging times.”—Adam Kuper, author of The Museum of Other People: From Colonial Acquisitions to Cosmopolitan Exhibitions “Noga Arikha successfully depicts the life, work, thought, and influence of Franz Boas, the towering figure who shaped the development of modern American anthropology. She perceptively stresses his lifelong battle against racism, ethnocentrism, eugenics, and for freedom of thought.”—Herbert S. Lewis, author of Correcting the Record: Essays on the History of American Anthropology