Rainer F. Buschmann
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824831844
- eISBN:
- 9780824869960
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824831844.003.0006
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
The growing interest in German New Guinea's expansive ethnographic frontier became a welcome windfall for Albert Hahl, the colony's second governor. This chapter chronicles Hahl's efforts to convince ...
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The growing interest in German New Guinea's expansive ethnographic frontier became a welcome windfall for Albert Hahl, the colony's second governor. This chapter chronicles Hahl's efforts to convince the anthropological community to move beyond artifacts and to consider the mental cultures of the indigenous peoples living in German New Guinea. Hahl actively argued that the “salvage operation” of indigenous artifacts had exhausted itself, and that practitioners needed to engage themselves in the salvaging of indigenous producers of objects. Set on methodological innovation, the German governor attempted to co-opt a restructured ethnographic frontier into addressing colonial predicaments affecting German New Guinea. Much like in the colonial metropole, the ethnographic frontier in German New Guinea became a crucial component in the development of anthropological ideas and methodologies.Less
The growing interest in German New Guinea's expansive ethnographic frontier became a welcome windfall for Albert Hahl, the colony's second governor. This chapter chronicles Hahl's efforts to convince the anthropological community to move beyond artifacts and to consider the mental cultures of the indigenous peoples living in German New Guinea. Hahl actively argued that the “salvage operation” of indigenous artifacts had exhausted itself, and that practitioners needed to engage themselves in the salvaging of indigenous producers of objects. Set on methodological innovation, the German governor attempted to co-opt a restructured ethnographic frontier into addressing colonial predicaments affecting German New Guinea. Much like in the colonial metropole, the ethnographic frontier in German New Guinea became a crucial component in the development of anthropological ideas and methodologies.
Rainer F. Buschmann
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824831844
- eISBN:
- 9780824869960
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824831844.003.0003
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter focuses on Felix von Luschan's attempt to engage the commercial frontier in German New Guinea for the purposes of his African and Oceanic division at the Berlin Ethnological Museum. His ...
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This chapter focuses on Felix von Luschan's attempt to engage the commercial frontier in German New Guinea for the purposes of his African and Oceanic division at the Berlin Ethnological Museum. His attempt to secure the prominent German commercial presence in German New Guinea soon clashed with the traders' “colonial project” of securing profits from the exchange. The chapter illustrates that the conceptual clashes over indigenous artifacts separating science from commercialism predated Luschan's predicament by a century. The disagreement over the conceptualization soon became a widening gap, as Luschan demanded artifacts to be accompanied by exact descriptions. Such qualitative demands on artifact collection contradicted the quantitative German merchant commercial project. In his attempt to gain independence from colonial agents, Luschan now searched for new alternatives, pushing the anthropological field into new directions.Less
This chapter focuses on Felix von Luschan's attempt to engage the commercial frontier in German New Guinea for the purposes of his African and Oceanic division at the Berlin Ethnological Museum. His attempt to secure the prominent German commercial presence in German New Guinea soon clashed with the traders' “colonial project” of securing profits from the exchange. The chapter illustrates that the conceptual clashes over indigenous artifacts separating science from commercialism predated Luschan's predicament by a century. The disagreement over the conceptualization soon became a widening gap, as Luschan demanded artifacts to be accompanied by exact descriptions. Such qualitative demands on artifact collection contradicted the quantitative German merchant commercial project. In his attempt to gain independence from colonial agents, Luschan now searched for new alternatives, pushing the anthropological field into new directions.
Rainer F. Buschmann
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824831844
- eISBN:
- 9780824869960
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824831844.003.0004
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter explores how Felix von Luschan's African and Oceanic division at the Berlin Ethnological Museum met with resentment among other German anthropological institutions. Shortly after the ...
More
This chapter explores how Felix von Luschan's African and Oceanic division at the Berlin Ethnological Museum met with resentment among other German anthropological institutions. Shortly after the turn of the century, Adolf Bastian's theoretical visions came under attack for their impracticalities. Similarly, Luschan's division within museum was blamed for maintaining a monopoly position among German institutions. Combining theoretical argument with an increasing ability to solicit local civic support for their efforts, museum officials in Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Leipzig soon outflanked Luschan in Berlin. Increasingly isolated, Luschan built upon the methodological innovations developed through his disagreements with commercial agents in German New Guinea.Less
This chapter explores how Felix von Luschan's African and Oceanic division at the Berlin Ethnological Museum met with resentment among other German anthropological institutions. Shortly after the turn of the century, Adolf Bastian's theoretical visions came under attack for their impracticalities. Similarly, Luschan's division within museum was blamed for maintaining a monopoly position among German institutions. Combining theoretical argument with an increasing ability to solicit local civic support for their efforts, museum officials in Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Leipzig soon outflanked Luschan in Berlin. Increasingly isolated, Luschan built upon the methodological innovations developed through his disagreements with commercial agents in German New Guinea.
Rainer F. Buschmann
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824831844
- eISBN:
- 9780824869960
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824831844.003.0007
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter considers indigenous responses to the ethnographic frontier. In other words, while the preceding chapters chronicled how ethnographic involvement in the Pacific shaped German ...
More
This chapter considers indigenous responses to the ethnographic frontier. In other words, while the preceding chapters chronicled how ethnographic involvement in the Pacific shaped German anthropology at home and abroad, the present chapter looks at indigenous reactions to the German appropriation of material culture. Arguing for a dual conceptualization of the anthropological scheme, that is, a Western and Pacific one, it traces selected incidents of indigenous counterethnography in the western isles of the Bismarck Archipelago and on the island of New Ireland. These indigenous attempts at resistance are an important counterpoint to the “colonial projects” descending on German New Guinea.Less
This chapter considers indigenous responses to the ethnographic frontier. In other words, while the preceding chapters chronicled how ethnographic involvement in the Pacific shaped German anthropology at home and abroad, the present chapter looks at indigenous reactions to the German appropriation of material culture. Arguing for a dual conceptualization of the anthropological scheme, that is, a Western and Pacific one, it traces selected incidents of indigenous counterethnography in the western isles of the Bismarck Archipelago and on the island of New Ireland. These indigenous attempts at resistance are an important counterpoint to the “colonial projects” descending on German New Guinea.
Rainer F. Buschmann
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824831844
- eISBN:
- 9780824869960
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824831844.003.0009
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter proposes to return a global historical flavor to anthropology. It examines German tradition in light of other anthropological endeavors in the Pacific Ocean. It begins by looking at the ...
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This chapter proposes to return a global historical flavor to anthropology. It examines German tradition in light of other anthropological endeavors in the Pacific Ocean. It begins by looking at the academic and colonial settings of American and British anthropology in the Pacific Islands. It then explores general interbleeding ethnographic frontiers throughout the Pacific Islands. Finally, it seeks to transcend German New Guinea to provide an outline of anthropological studies in the Pacific Ocean between 1760 and 1945. It argues that despite the problematic interference of imperial boundaries with ethnographic frontiers, it was in the Pacific that the establishment of imperial territories assisted the development of ethnographic endeavors. Both British and German imperial realms incorporated crucial ethnographic frontiers, especially territories that were identified as frontier regions between the stipulated static division of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.Less
This chapter proposes to return a global historical flavor to anthropology. It examines German tradition in light of other anthropological endeavors in the Pacific Ocean. It begins by looking at the academic and colonial settings of American and British anthropology in the Pacific Islands. It then explores general interbleeding ethnographic frontiers throughout the Pacific Islands. Finally, it seeks to transcend German New Guinea to provide an outline of anthropological studies in the Pacific Ocean between 1760 and 1945. It argues that despite the problematic interference of imperial boundaries with ethnographic frontiers, it was in the Pacific that the establishment of imperial territories assisted the development of ethnographic endeavors. Both British and German imperial realms incorporated crucial ethnographic frontiers, especially territories that were identified as frontier regions between the stipulated static division of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
Rainer F. Buschmann
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824831844
- eISBN:
- 9780824869960
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824831844.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
Anthropologists and world historians make strange bedfellows. Although the latter frequently employ anthropological methods in their descriptions of cross-cultural exchanges, the former have raised ...
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Anthropologists and world historians make strange bedfellows. Although the latter frequently employ anthropological methods in their descriptions of cross-cultural exchanges, the former have raised substantial reservations about global approaches to history. Fearing loss of specificity, anthropologists object to the effacing qualities of techniques employed by world historians—this despite the fact that anthropology itself was a global, comparative enterprise in the nineteenth century. This book seeks to recover some of anthropology's global flavor by viewing its history in Oceania through the notion of the ethnographic frontier—the furthermost limits of the anthropologically known regions of the Pacific. The colony of German New Guinea (1884–1914) presents an ideal example of just such a contact zone. Colonial administrators there were drawn to approaches partially inspired by anthropology. Anthropologists and museum officials exploited this interest by preparing large-scale expeditions to German New Guinea. The book explores the interactions between German colonial officials, resident ethnographic collectors, and indigenous peoples, arguing that all were instrumental in the formation of anthropological theory. It shows how changes in collecting aims and methods helped shift ethnographic study away from its focus on material artifacts to a broader consideration of indigenous culture. It also shows how ethnological collecting could become politicized and connect to national concerns.Less
Anthropologists and world historians make strange bedfellows. Although the latter frequently employ anthropological methods in their descriptions of cross-cultural exchanges, the former have raised substantial reservations about global approaches to history. Fearing loss of specificity, anthropologists object to the effacing qualities of techniques employed by world historians—this despite the fact that anthropology itself was a global, comparative enterprise in the nineteenth century. This book seeks to recover some of anthropology's global flavor by viewing its history in Oceania through the notion of the ethnographic frontier—the furthermost limits of the anthropologically known regions of the Pacific. The colony of German New Guinea (1884–1914) presents an ideal example of just such a contact zone. Colonial administrators there were drawn to approaches partially inspired by anthropology. Anthropologists and museum officials exploited this interest by preparing large-scale expeditions to German New Guinea. The book explores the interactions between German colonial officials, resident ethnographic collectors, and indigenous peoples, arguing that all were instrumental in the formation of anthropological theory. It shows how changes in collecting aims and methods helped shift ethnographic study away from its focus on material artifacts to a broader consideration of indigenous culture. It also shows how ethnological collecting could become politicized and connect to national concerns.
Rainer F. Buschmann
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824831844
- eISBN:
- 9780824869960
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824831844.003.0008
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
German anthropologists did not cease their intellectual endeavors despite the loss of Germany's colonial empire following the Treaty of Versailles. This chapter analyzes how the tremendous backlog in ...
More
German anthropologists did not cease their intellectual endeavors despite the loss of Germany's colonial empire following the Treaty of Versailles. This chapter analyzes how the tremendous backlog in material culture and ethnographic information gathered during the expedition age in German New Guinea maintained the discipline following the colonial loss. Similarly, Germany's sudden entry into a “postcolonial” age provided an additional stimulus for anthropologists. When practitioners turned to crafting their monographs, their salvaging attempts along the ethnographic frontier were influenced by postcolonial demands to exonerate the German administration from potential abuses against the indigenous populations in German New Guinea.Less
German anthropologists did not cease their intellectual endeavors despite the loss of Germany's colonial empire following the Treaty of Versailles. This chapter analyzes how the tremendous backlog in material culture and ethnographic information gathered during the expedition age in German New Guinea maintained the discipline following the colonial loss. Similarly, Germany's sudden entry into a “postcolonial” age provided an additional stimulus for anthropologists. When practitioners turned to crafting their monographs, their salvaging attempts along the ethnographic frontier were influenced by postcolonial demands to exonerate the German administration from potential abuses against the indigenous populations in German New Guinea.
