Sergei Kan
Studied history and archaeology at Moscow State University (USSR) in 1970-73
Completed undergrad. education at Boston University (B.A. in Anthropology & Religion, 1976); MA & Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Chicago, 1982.
Doctoral Dissertation based on 12 months of ethnographic and ethnohistorical research among the Tlingit people of southeastern Alaska.
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan (1983-89)
Assistant, Associate and currently Professor of Anthropology at Dartmouth College since 1989. Faculty Associate, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University.
Supervisors: Main faculty advisors at the University of Chicago: Raymond D. Fogelson, George W. Stocking, Jr., Nancy Munn, Jean Comaroff
Completed undergrad. education at Boston University (B.A. in Anthropology & Religion, 1976); MA & Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Chicago, 1982.
Doctoral Dissertation based on 12 months of ethnographic and ethnohistorical research among the Tlingit people of southeastern Alaska.
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan (1983-89)
Assistant, Associate and currently Professor of Anthropology at Dartmouth College since 1989. Faculty Associate, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University.
Supervisors: Main faculty advisors at the University of Chicago: Raymond D. Fogelson, George W. Stocking, Jr., Nancy Munn, Jean Comaroff
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Books by Sergei Kan
of the first generation of Boas’ students?
"This book magnificently enlightens the global era of choosing one's death ways. It sheds light not only on the significance of agency, authority, and technological applications to changing mortuary rites, but also on the (re)invention, and negotiation of cultural rituals based on rich ethnographies." Hikaru Suzuki, author of "The Price of Death" the Funeral Industry in Contemporary Japan."
This volume focuses on the preservation and dissemination of Tlingit language, traditional cultural knowledge, and history from an activist Tlingit perspective. Sharing Our Knowledge also highlights a variety of collaborations between Native groups and individuals and non-Native researchers, emphasizing a long history of respectful, cooperative, and productive working relations aimed at recording and transmitting cultural knowledge for tribal use and promoting Native agency in preserving heritage. By focusing on these collaborations, the contributors demonstrate how such alliances have benefited the Tlingits and neighboring groups in preserving and protecting their heritage while advancing scholarship at the same time.
Published: 2013
Hardcover ISBN: 9780806142906
272 pages, 10" x 10"
Volume 10 in Charles M. Russell Center Series on Art and Photography of the American West
Subject: American Indian , Art/Photography
OUPress.Data.Entities.Image
Recent and Forthcoming Books
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Lanterns on the Prairie
Lanterns on the Prairie
Edited by: Steven Grafe
A Danish Photographer of Idaho Indians
A Danish Photographer of Idaho Indians
By: Joanna Scherer
Arapaho Journeys
By: Sara Wiles
* DESCRIPTION
* AUTHOR BIO
* PREVIEW
Photographs of a multiethnic community at work and play at the turn of the past century
This book is a rich record of life in small-town southeastern Alaska in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is the first book to showcase the photographs of Vincent Soboleff, an amateur Russian American photographer whose community included Tlingit Indians from a nearby village as well as Russian Americans, so-called Creoles, who worked in a local fertilizer factory. Using a Kodak camera, Soboleff, the son of a Russian Orthodox priest, documented the life of this multiethnic parish at work and at play until 1920. Despite their significance, few of Soboleff’s photographs have been published since their discovery in 1950. Anthropologist Sergei Kan rectifies that oversight in A Russian American Photographer in Tlingit Country, which brings together more than 100 of Soboleff’s striking black-and-white images.
Combining Soboleff’s photographs with ethnographic fieldwork and archival research, Kan brings to life the communities of Killisnoo, where Soboleff grew up, and Angoon, the Tlingit village. The photographs gathered here depict Russian Creoles, Euro-Americans, the operation of the Killisnoo factory, and the daily life of its workers. But Soboleff’s work is especially valuable as a record of Tlingit life. As a member of this multiethnic community, he was able to take unusually personal photographs of people and daily life. Soboleff’s photographs offer candid and intimate glimpses into Tlingit people’s then-new economic pursuits such as commercial fishing, selling berries, and making “Indian curios” to sell to tourists. Other images show white, Creole, and Native factory workers rubbing shoulders while keeping a certain distance during leisure time.
Kan offers readers, historians, and photography lovers a beautiful visual resource on Tlingit and Russian American life that shows how the two cultures intertwined in southeastern Alaska at the turn of the past century.
I have corrected a few minor errors and added data from my own field research (1990-2010s) as well as works by Tlingit scholars and cultural activists.
I have also written a 30 pp. Epilogue, which examines the Tlingit memorial potlatch in the 20th century.
Translated from Russian with Introduction and annotation by Sergei Kan.
Rasmussen Series in Historical Translation
I just found a copy of a review of this annotated trasnlation, which was one of my very first publications by none other than Claude Lévi-Strauss. Little did I know at that time (1985) that in 2000 I will be co-organizing with my friends and colleagues, Marie Mauzé and Michael Harkin, a conference in Paris on Northwest Coast ethnology in his honor (which became the basis of our co-edited volume "Coming to Shore: Northwest Ethnology, Traditions and Visions"; 2004; University of Nebraska Press). I am attaching this review here.
The first book to explore the role of the Northwest Coast in three distinct national traditions of anthropology— American, Canadian, and French—Coming to Shore gives particular consideration to the importance of Claude Lévi-Strauss and structuralism, as well as more recent social theory in the context of Northwest Coast anthropology. In addition contributors explore the blurring boundaries between theoretical and applied anthropology as well as contemporary issues such as land claims, criminal justice, environmentalism, economic development, and museum display. The contribution of Frederica de Laguna provides a historical background to the enterprise of Northwest Coast anthropology, as do the contributions of Claude Lévi-Strauss and Marie Mauzé.
Papers by Sergei Kan
and the early Soviet Union through his collaborations with Russian and
Soviet anthropologists, especially the ethnotroika – Vladimir Jochelson,
Vladimir Bogoras, and Lev Shternberg. Boas mentored these anthropologists during the Jesup North Pacific Expedition at the turn of the twentieth century but remained largely indifferent to the political landscape of the Russian Empire. However, Boas’s stance changed with the advent of the Soviet Union. He saw the Soviet project as a scientific experiment and positively assessed Soviet policies, especially indigenization. This led him to initiate institutional collaborations, including advocating for student exchange programs and proposing joint expeditions involving Soviet scholars. Despite
growing evidence of political repression and ideological control within
Soviet anthropology, Boas maintained a selectively positive outlook toward
the USSR. He downplayed negative reports, rationalized the suppression
of dissenting views, and refrained from public criticism, even as his Soviet
colleagues faced persecution. Boas’s unwavering support for the Soviet
experiment was rooted in his evolving political beliefs, which shifted from
liberalism to a more socialist orientation. He contrasted the perceived social progress and anti-racism of the USSR with the shortcomings of Western democracies, particularly the United States. By the late 1930s, Boas’s ideological convictions ultimately compromised his anthropological objectivity.
He prioritized the abstract ideal of Soviet socialism over the lived realities
of his Soviet colleagues and the principles of intellectual freedom. Only in
the final year of his life, influenced by the changing geopolitical landscape
of World War II, did Boas begin to adopt a more nuanced and critical perspective on the USSR and its place in the global order.
of the first generation of Boas’ students?
"This book magnificently enlightens the global era of choosing one's death ways. It sheds light not only on the significance of agency, authority, and technological applications to changing mortuary rites, but also on the (re)invention, and negotiation of cultural rituals based on rich ethnographies." Hikaru Suzuki, author of "The Price of Death" the Funeral Industry in Contemporary Japan."
This volume focuses on the preservation and dissemination of Tlingit language, traditional cultural knowledge, and history from an activist Tlingit perspective. Sharing Our Knowledge also highlights a variety of collaborations between Native groups and individuals and non-Native researchers, emphasizing a long history of respectful, cooperative, and productive working relations aimed at recording and transmitting cultural knowledge for tribal use and promoting Native agency in preserving heritage. By focusing on these collaborations, the contributors demonstrate how such alliances have benefited the Tlingits and neighboring groups in preserving and protecting their heritage while advancing scholarship at the same time.
Published: 2013
Hardcover ISBN: 9780806142906
272 pages, 10" x 10"
Volume 10 in Charles M. Russell Center Series on Art and Photography of the American West
Subject: American Indian , Art/Photography
OUPress.Data.Entities.Image
Recent and Forthcoming Books
Award-winning Books
View Our Catalogs
Visit Our Blog
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Visit the OU Press Youtube Channel
Join Our E-mail List
Send info about this book to friends, family and associates.
CONTINUE
Related INTEREST
Lanterns on the Prairie
Lanterns on the Prairie
Edited by: Steven Grafe
A Danish Photographer of Idaho Indians
A Danish Photographer of Idaho Indians
By: Joanna Scherer
Arapaho Journeys
By: Sara Wiles
* DESCRIPTION
* AUTHOR BIO
* PREVIEW
Photographs of a multiethnic community at work and play at the turn of the past century
This book is a rich record of life in small-town southeastern Alaska in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is the first book to showcase the photographs of Vincent Soboleff, an amateur Russian American photographer whose community included Tlingit Indians from a nearby village as well as Russian Americans, so-called Creoles, who worked in a local fertilizer factory. Using a Kodak camera, Soboleff, the son of a Russian Orthodox priest, documented the life of this multiethnic parish at work and at play until 1920. Despite their significance, few of Soboleff’s photographs have been published since their discovery in 1950. Anthropologist Sergei Kan rectifies that oversight in A Russian American Photographer in Tlingit Country, which brings together more than 100 of Soboleff’s striking black-and-white images.
Combining Soboleff’s photographs with ethnographic fieldwork and archival research, Kan brings to life the communities of Killisnoo, where Soboleff grew up, and Angoon, the Tlingit village. The photographs gathered here depict Russian Creoles, Euro-Americans, the operation of the Killisnoo factory, and the daily life of its workers. But Soboleff’s work is especially valuable as a record of Tlingit life. As a member of this multiethnic community, he was able to take unusually personal photographs of people and daily life. Soboleff’s photographs offer candid and intimate glimpses into Tlingit people’s then-new economic pursuits such as commercial fishing, selling berries, and making “Indian curios” to sell to tourists. Other images show white, Creole, and Native factory workers rubbing shoulders while keeping a certain distance during leisure time.
Kan offers readers, historians, and photography lovers a beautiful visual resource on Tlingit and Russian American life that shows how the two cultures intertwined in southeastern Alaska at the turn of the past century.
I have corrected a few minor errors and added data from my own field research (1990-2010s) as well as works by Tlingit scholars and cultural activists.
I have also written a 30 pp. Epilogue, which examines the Tlingit memorial potlatch in the 20th century.
Translated from Russian with Introduction and annotation by Sergei Kan.
Rasmussen Series in Historical Translation
I just found a copy of a review of this annotated trasnlation, which was one of my very first publications by none other than Claude Lévi-Strauss. Little did I know at that time (1985) that in 2000 I will be co-organizing with my friends and colleagues, Marie Mauzé and Michael Harkin, a conference in Paris on Northwest Coast ethnology in his honor (which became the basis of our co-edited volume "Coming to Shore: Northwest Ethnology, Traditions and Visions"; 2004; University of Nebraska Press). I am attaching this review here.
The first book to explore the role of the Northwest Coast in three distinct national traditions of anthropology— American, Canadian, and French—Coming to Shore gives particular consideration to the importance of Claude Lévi-Strauss and structuralism, as well as more recent social theory in the context of Northwest Coast anthropology. In addition contributors explore the blurring boundaries between theoretical and applied anthropology as well as contemporary issues such as land claims, criminal justice, environmentalism, economic development, and museum display. The contribution of Frederica de Laguna provides a historical background to the enterprise of Northwest Coast anthropology, as do the contributions of Claude Lévi-Strauss and Marie Mauzé.
and the early Soviet Union through his collaborations with Russian and
Soviet anthropologists, especially the ethnotroika – Vladimir Jochelson,
Vladimir Bogoras, and Lev Shternberg. Boas mentored these anthropologists during the Jesup North Pacific Expedition at the turn of the twentieth century but remained largely indifferent to the political landscape of the Russian Empire. However, Boas’s stance changed with the advent of the Soviet Union. He saw the Soviet project as a scientific experiment and positively assessed Soviet policies, especially indigenization. This led him to initiate institutional collaborations, including advocating for student exchange programs and proposing joint expeditions involving Soviet scholars. Despite
growing evidence of political repression and ideological control within
Soviet anthropology, Boas maintained a selectively positive outlook toward
the USSR. He downplayed negative reports, rationalized the suppression
of dissenting views, and refrained from public criticism, even as his Soviet
colleagues faced persecution. Boas’s unwavering support for the Soviet
experiment was rooted in his evolving political beliefs, which shifted from
liberalism to a more socialist orientation. He contrasted the perceived social progress and anti-racism of the USSR with the shortcomings of Western democracies, particularly the United States. By the late 1930s, Boas’s ideological convictions ultimately compromised his anthropological objectivity.
He prioritized the abstract ideal of Soviet socialism over the lived realities
of his Soviet colleagues and the principles of intellectual freedom. Only in
the final year of his life, influenced by the changing geopolitical landscape
of World War II, did Boas begin to adopt a more nuanced and critical perspective on the USSR and its place in the global order.
евреев» написана в форме письма ее герою и приглашает читателя к размышлению над некоторыми радикальными
изменениями, произошедшими с советской и российской этнографией в течение двадцатого и первых двух десятиле-
тий двадцать первого столетия. Автор обращает особое внимание на социальный и политический контекст этих из-
менений, которые значительно повлияли на интерпретацию самой фигуры Штернберга и его идей в советское время
и сегодня. Этот литературный эксперимент продолжает рассуждения автора о необходимости пересмотра истории
антропологии и возвращении ее в пространство антропологии как таковой, или, как писал еще в 1960-е гг. американ-
ский антрополог Альфред Ирвинг Хэллоуэлл, концептуализации истории антропологии как антропологической про-
блемы. Под возвращением автор понимает восстановление диалога между историей антропологии и историей сооб-
ществ, которые изучали и изучают антропологи, а также построение связей между историей антропологических идей
и текущими дискуссиями как внутри дисциплины, так и за ее пределами. Такие изменения, по мнению автора, могут
значительно расширить стили антропологического письма и выявить новые генеалогии антропологического знания.
К люч е в ы е с л о в а : Штернберг, Сибирь, советская этнография, антропологическое письмо, история антропологии.
Dawdy, Shannon (2021) American Afrterlives: Reinventing Death in the 21st Century.
Dawdy, S. & Kneese, T., eds. (2022) The New Death: Mortality and Death Care in the Twenty-First Century.