Claude Levi-Strauss was a famous anthropologist, known for theories that went beyond his particular niche of social science. His kind of anthropology wasn’t mine, but I read his stuff nonetheless (because it was impossible to take any anthro class without having to read some Levi-Strauss at least). For anyone who wants to look at the human condition, his work is insightful and illuminating. it’s only in retrospect that you can truly understand how broad the man’s scope was in looking at human society and culture.

From his obit in The New York Times:
“In his analysis of myth and culture, Levi-Strauss might contrast imagery of monkeys and jaguars; consider the differences in meaning of roasted and boiled food (cannibals, he suggested, tended to boil their friends and roast their enemies); and establish connections between weird mythological tales and ornate laws of marriage and kinship.”

I always found the differentiation between why one cannibal boils and why one roasts to be illuminating and inspiring. It makes you see the world differently, doesn’t it?

That’s why it’s good to be an anthro major, kids, especially if you want to be a writer: You get to explore the world in a whole new way. Levi-Strauss died only a few weeks shy of his 101st birthday. By the time he died, he was feted around the world for his work. A life well-spent!

Eilis Flynn
ECHOES OF PASSION, on sale now