The ethnography of Edward Westermarck has been greatly criticized. This paper argues that the time is ripe for a reconsideration.
Paper long abstract
Edward Westermarck (1862-1939) is often dismissed as the last of the 'scissors and paste' generation, a man who somehow ended up as Malinowski's teacher and was superseded by him. This criticism is no-where stronger then when considering his fieldwork in North Africa, which has been regarded frequently as being almost useless for modern anthropology. In this paper, I argue that this caricature is misplaced. It is perfectly true that in form it resembles a Victorian anthropologist (indeed, his first work received a puff by Alfred R. Wallace, Darwin's contemporary). Yet, he did conduct detailed, long-term fieldwork and he knew Berber, French and Arabic. Looked at closely, I suggest that his most detailed ethnographic volumes 'Religion and Ritual in Morocco' are still immensely suggestive, and as we today become more accustomed to a variety of ethnographic approaches, the time has come to rehabilitate this work into the canon of fine fieldwork monographs. In conclusion, I attempt to present a fresh perception of his place within the history of modern anthropology.