Ruth Benedict

Ruth Benedict (née Fulton) (June 6, 1887 – September 17, 1948) was an American anthropologist.

Related Topics:
June 6 - 1887 - September 17 - 1948 - American - Anthropologist

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She was born in New York. She attended Vassar College, graduating in 1909.

Related Topics:
New York - Vassar College - 1909

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She entered graduate studies at Columbia University in 1919, studying under Franz Boas, receiving her PhD and joining the faculty in 1923. Margaret Mead was one of her students.

Related Topics:
Columbia University - 1919 - Franz Boas - PhD - 1923 - Margaret Mead

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Benedict wrote poetry under the name "Anne Singleton" until the early 1930s.

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Her Patterns of Culture (1934) expresses cultural relativism in describing behaviors said to appear in every human society. (Her critics dismiss these patterns as a "tiny subset" of the whole.)

Related Topics:
1934 - Cultural relativism

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In 1936 she was appointed an associate professor.

Related Topics:
1936 - Associate professor

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Benedict was among the leading social anthropologists who were recruited by the U.S. Government for war-related research and consultation after U.S. entry into

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World War II.

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One of her lesser known works was a pamphlet she wrote then with Gene Weltfish, intended for American troops and stating the scientific case against racist beliefs. Despite the military concern that racially motivated behaviors interfered with military efficiency, approvals needed for its full distribution did not come.

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