Melville Herskovits

Melville Herskovits was a pioneering American anthropologist whose work played a decisive role in establishing modern cultural anthropology in the United States. He is best known for his studies of African and African diaspora cultures and for advancing the concept of cultural relativism. Herskovits challenged ethnocentric assumptions in social science and demonstrated the depth, continuity, and significance of African cultural influences in the Americas, thereby reshaping scholarly and public understandings of race, culture, and identity.

Background and Early Life

Melville Jean Herskovits was born in 1895 in Bellefontaine, Ohio, to Jewish immigrant parents of Central European origin. His early experiences as the child of immigrants contributed to his sensitivity towards cultural difference and minority identities. Initially trained in history, Herskovits later shifted towards anthropology, a discipline that allowed him to integrate historical analysis with the study of culture and social organisation.
He pursued higher education at the University of Chicago and later at Columbia University, where he was strongly influenced by Franz Boas, the founder of American cultural anthropology. Under Boas’s mentorship, Herskovits adopted a rigorous empirical approach and a firm commitment to cultural relativism.

Academic Career and Institutional Influence

Herskovits spent most of his academic career at Northwestern University, where he founded one of the first African studies programmes in the United States. His efforts were instrumental in institutionalising the study of Africa and African diaspora cultures within American academia.
He also played a significant role in shaping anthropology as a professional discipline. Herskovits served as president of the American Anthropological Association and was actively involved in developing research standards, training programmes, and international scholarly networks. Through teaching and mentorship, he influenced generations of anthropologists.

Cultural Relativism and Anthropological Theory

One of Herskovits’s most important theoretical contributions was his development and defence of cultural relativism. He argued that cultures must be understood on their own terms rather than judged according to external or Western standards.
Key principles of his approach include:

• Cultural practices are shaped by historical and environmental contexts.
• No culture is inherently superior or inferior to another.
• Moral and social norms derive their meaning from cultural frameworks.

This perspective challenged racist and evolutionist theories that ranked societies hierarchically and helped establish anthropology as a discipline committed to understanding cultural diversity.

The Study of African and African Diaspora Cultures

Herskovits is most renowned for his research on African cultural survivals in the Americas. He conducted extensive fieldwork in West Africa, the Caribbean, and South America, examining music, religion, kinship, and social organisation.
His landmark book The Myth of the Negro Past argued that African Americans retained significant elements of African culture despite the disruptive effects of slavery. This thesis directly opposed prevailing views that enslaved Africans had lost their cultural heritage entirely.
By documenting linguistic patterns, religious practices, musical forms, and social customs, Herskovits demonstrated the resilience and continuity of African-derived cultures across the Atlantic world.

Contributions to the Anthropology of Race

Herskovits played an important role in challenging biological conceptions of race. He argued that race is a social and cultural construct rather than a fixed biological category.
His work helped distinguish between:

• Biological variation, which is limited and continuous.
• Cultural differences, which are socially learned and historically shaped.

This distinction contributed to broader efforts within anthropology and social science to undermine scientific racism and promote more accurate understandings of human diversity.

Africa and Area Studies

Beyond his work on the African diaspora, Herskovits was a leading figure in African studies. He advocated the systematic study of African societies as complex, dynamic cultures rather than as primitive or static entities.
He emphasised the importance of interdisciplinary research combining anthropology, history, linguistics, and economics. His efforts laid the groundwork for the post-war expansion of area studies and helped integrate African perspectives into global scholarship.

Methodological Approach

Herskovits’s research combined ethnographic fieldwork, historical documentation, and comparative analysis. He placed strong emphasis on direct observation, language competence, and long-term engagement with communities.
His methodological rigour reflected Boasian anthropology’s commitment to detailed empirical evidence and resistance to speculative generalisation. At the same time, his comparative work sought to identify patterns and continuities across different cultural contexts.