Bronisław Malinowski and His Legacy in Contemporary Social Sciences and Humanities : On the Centenary of Argonauts of the Western Pacific

As one of the most renowned figures in the history of anthropology, Bronisław Malinowski is recognised as having been central to the development of the discipline, with interpretations of his thought usually drawing attention to his work in founding the approach of functionalism and his innovative method of intensive field research. This book offers a decisive extension of Malinowski’s achievement, referring to the accomplishments of present‐day social sciences and humanities and the debts that they owe to Malinowksi’s oeuvre. Bringing together eminent scholars in such fields as social anthropology, sociology, law, cultural studies, literary and theatre studies, and art history, this book emphasises the importance of Malinowski’s theoretical and methodological insights as a treasure trove of inspiration for contemporary researchers. A critical commentary on the life, work, and legacy of Bronisłw Malinowski, it sheds light on his academic work, while personal documents, many of which are not well known – or are completely unknown – in the Anglophone sphere, prove their fundamental importance for understanding his oeuvre, and the intellectual connections between his work and the work of other most prominent intellectuals of the 20th and 21st centuries. It will therefore appeal to scholars across the social sciences and humanities with interests in the history of anthropology and sociology and fundamental questions of theory and research methodology. Contents List of illustrations and their description Notes on contributors Acknowledgements Revisiting the Life and Work of Bronisław Malinowski: On the Centenary of Argonauts of the Western Pacific • Grażyna Kubica and Dariusz Brzeziński Part I: Bronisław Malinowski: Known and Unknown 1 Bronisław Malinowski – The (Somewhat Anglicized and Cosmopolitan) Pole: Biographical‐Anthropological Reflections on His Polish Identity • Grażyna Kubica 2 Our Ancestors: Making Sense of Bronisław Malinowski and Elsie Masson • Patrick Burke Part II: Revisiting Malinowski’s Intellectual Background 3 An Argonaut from Kraków: Pre‐field Malinowski as a Theorist • Petr Skalník 4 Bronisław Malinowski in the Laboratories of Leipzig • Krzysztof Łukasiewicz 5 Malinowski: A Modernist in His Way • Adam Kuper Part III: Malinowski’s Intellectual Relations: New Insights 6 ‘I Am Not Really a Real Character’: Malinowski, Witkiewicz and the Pitfalls of Making Oneself a ‘Character’ • Natalija Jakubova 7 Malinowski and the Disciples of Freud: Otto Rank, Ernest Jones and Wilhelm Reich • Lena Magnone 8 Under the Wing of the Rockefeller Foundation: On the Cooperation of Bronisław Malinowski and His Polish Student Józef Obrębski • Anna Engelking Part IV: Reconsiderations of Interpretive Frameworks 9 Bronisław Malinowski: An Icon of a Body‐centric Anthropology? • Andreas Lipowsky 10 ‘The Gardens Are, in a Way, a Work of Art’: Bronisław Malinowski’s Social Anthropology as Anthropology of Art • Andrzej Kisielewski 11 Exploring the Intersection of Law, Culture, and Biology: Tensions and Unfulfilled Potential in Malinowski’s Legal Thought • Mateusz Stępień Part V: Malinowski and Anthropology Today 12 Gimwala and Kula: Malinowski’s Living Ethnography • linus s. digim’Rina 13 What If We Had Followed Malinowski Instead of Staying on the Trobriand Islands? Notes on the Anthropological Multiverse • Marta Songin‐Mokrzan 14 Bronisław Malinowski and the Anthropology of Nostalgia • Dariusz Brzeziński Afterword: Malinowski in Context • Aleksandar Bošković Index