Foregrounding the Subjective in Leiris, Lévi-Strauss, and Malinowski

Abstract

This essay is concerned with the ways in which aspects of anthropology’s historical struggle with subjectivity and language, as explored by Clifford Geertz in Works and Lives, is mirrored in revealing ways in Michel Leiris’ approach to his singular autobiographical project, The Rules of the Game. While conventional wisdom suggests that anthropology and autobiography have little in common, I aim to make clear how the role of author-subjectivity in Leiris is foregrounded in much the same way Lévi-Strauss does in Tristes Tropiques. The essay’s second part studies how Bronislaw Malinowski’s corpus reveals a similar dynamic. I aim to show how such a foregrounding of subjectivity, rather than obscuring the objects or subjects of study, is a means of getting closer to them.

Keywords

• Autobiography
• subjectivity
• anthropology
• Leiris
• Lévi-Strauss
• Malinowski

Leiris, Lévi-Strauss ve Malinowski'de Öznelliğin Ön plana Çekilmesi

Abstract

Bu makale, Clifford Geertz'in Eserler ve Hayatlar (Works and Lifes) adlı kitabında ele aldığı antropolojinin öznellik ve dille olan tarihsel mücadelesinin Michel Leiris'in tek otobiyografik projesi olan Oyunun Kuralları'da (The Rules of the Game) sergilediği yaklaşımda nasıl örneklendiği ile ilgilidir. Genel kanı antropoloji ve otobiyografinin çok az ortak noktası olduğunu öne sürse de, Lévi-Strauss'un Tristes Tropiques'te yaptığı gibi Leiris'te de yazar-öznellik rolünün nasıl ön plana çıkarıldığını açıklığa kavuşturmayı hedefliyorum. Makalenin ikinci bölümü Bronislaw Malinowski'nin külliyatının benzer bir dinamiği nasıl ortaya koyduğunu inceliyor. Öznelliğin bu şekilde ön plana çıkarılmasının, çalışma nesnelerini veya öznelerini gizlemekten ziyade, onlara yaklaşmanın bir yolu olduğunu göstermeyi amaçlıyorum.

Keywords

• Otobiyografi
• öznellik
• antropoloji
• Leiris
• Lévi-Strauss
• Malinowski

References

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