Franziska Boas: Dancing the Potlatche

Dancing the Potlatche: The Franziska Boas Project.

Any Anthropology 101 class includes covers the father of American Anthropology, Franz Boas. Boas is remembered for shifting anthropology away from the “armchair” and into the field, attempting to remove the ethnocentric and paternal gaze of post-colonial academics. However, his daughter Franziska Boas (1902-1988), also an anthropologist, didn’t make it into the history books. Why?

She was a dancer. She studied dance anthropologically. Someday, when we get a bunch of $$ we'd put together somthing awesome and nerdy like: “Danthropologists: Anthropology in Motion” that considers Franziska Boas, Katherine Dunham, and Pearl Primus. The Library of Congress has thankfully saved many of Boas’ notes, photos, and writing. Fortunately, Boas left many clues, as she active in many different circles including dance therapy, racial integration, and avant-garde art  (in the late 40's, she rented her apartment to Andy Warhol). We’d like to compile, explore, and share e this information.