E. Evans-Pritchard, Colonialist, Imperialist, Spy? A Defence

Abstract

The reputation of the academic field of Anthropology has for some people been tarnished ever since Franz Boas’ letter to The Nation in 1919 in which he claimed that four anthropologists had acted as spies for the United States Government, using their field research as a camouflage for what they were really doing. From this specific accusation there has somehow developed an argument that all anthropologists carrying out fieldwork might actually be spies. This general misconception was not helped by the fact that in some cases that was essentially what they were doing, operating under the cover of their fieldwork as government agents. Unfortunately, many genuine researchers carrying out academic study have been tarred with the same brush. This article deals with one such anthropologist who researched during colonial rule and who, it is argued here, was most certainly not a spy. This should also be seen as a defence for the many others whose intentions were simply to carry out academic anthropological fieldwork.