McKim Marriott is a world-renowned anthropologist specializing in Indian society.

Education edit

Marriott received a PhD from the University of Chicago in 1955.

India Experience edit

His initial exposure to India came during World War II when he worked as a signals analyst. This experience sparked his interest in the country's unique social structures. Despite training as an Indologist, Marriott felt existing Western academic disciplines were inadequate for capturing the essence of Indian culture.[1].


Marriott has studied villagers and urbanites of Asia and professionals of Asia, including Japan. He criticized Western categories which often present obstacles to understanding peoples, and he elaborated alternative models for studying differing cultural realities.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Impact and Recognition edit

Marriott's work influenced generations of anthropologists, including his students who went on to become prominent scholars themselves. He was celebrated for his dedication to cultural sensitivity and his ability to bridge the gap between Western and Indian perspectives. A felicitation ceremony at the University of Chicago Smart Museum marked his 90th birthday, where colleagues and former students acknowledged his lasting influence.[8]


Selected publications edit

  • 1998 The female family core explored ethnosociologically. Contributions to Indian Sociology. 32: 279-304
  • 1997 A Description of SAMSARA, A Realization of Rural Hindu Life. Chicago: McKim Marriott.
  • 1992 Alternative social sciences. In J. MacAloon, ed., General Education in the Social Sciences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 262–278.
  • 1991 On ‘Constructing an Indian ethnosociology’ Contributions to Indian Sociology. 25:295-308.
  • 1990 (Editor) India through Hindu Categories. New Delhi/Newbury Park/London: Sage Publications.

Further reading edit

  • Review: India as a Philosophical Problem: Mckim Marriott and the Comparative Enterprise: India through Hindu Categories by McKim Marriott Review by: Edwin Gerow Journal of the American Oriental Society Vol. 120, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 2000), pp. 410–429

References edit

  1. ^ "McKim Marriott Insists on Understanding India on its Own Terms". 5 April 2020. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ "McKim Marriott - Department of Anthropology - Division of Social Sciences - University of Chicago". anthropology.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  3. ^ "McKim Marriott : Biography and Contribution to World Sociology". 12 April 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  4. ^ Fürer-Haimendorf, C. Von (1957). "Marriott McKim (ed.): Village India: studies in the little community. (Comparative Studies of Cultures and Civilizations, [No, 6]) xix, 269 pp. 61 illus., plates, map. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1955. $4.50. (English agents: C.U.P. 34s". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 19 (2): 394–395. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00133282. S2CID 163037210. Retrieved 6 October 2017 – via Cambridge Core.
  5. ^ "McKim Marriott - American anthropologist". Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  6. ^ Moffatt, Michael (1990). "Deconstructing Mc Kim Marriott's Ethnosociology: An Outcaste's Critique". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 24 (2): 215–236. doi:10.1177/006996690024002005. S2CID 146425676.
  7. ^ Gerow, Edwin (6 October 2017). Marriott, McKim (ed.). "India as a Philosophical Problem: Mckim Marriott and the Comparative Enterprise". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 120 (3): 410–429. doi:10.2307/606012. JSTOR 606012.
  8. ^ "McKim Marriott Insists on Understanding India on its Own Terms". 5 April 2020.

External links edit