Henrietta Schmerler
 | This article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject. (December 2024) |
Henrietta Schmerler (1909–1931) was an American anthropology graduate student at Columbia University,[1] who was murdered during a solo fieldwork assignment on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in Arizona.[2] Despite her limited experience, she was sent to conduct independent research, where her work focused on documenting cultural practices of the White Mountain Apache tribe. Schmerler's death prompted both public scrutiny and institutional deflection, with prominent anthropologists Ruth Benedict and Franz Boas blaming her perceived inexperience and alleged misconduct rather than addressing systemic failures.[3] Her story became a cautionary tale, entangled in narratives of victim-blaming and gendered stereotypes, while also serving as a flashpoint for discussions about the responsibilities of academic institutions in ensuring the safety of researchers.[4] Decades later, scholars revisited her case as emblematic of anthropology's struggles with power dynamics, ethical accountability, and the treatment of sexual violence within the field.[5][6]
References
[edit]- ^ Schmerler, Henrietta (1931). "Trickster Marries His Daughter". The Journal of American Folklore. 44 (172): 196–207. doi:10.2307/535841. ISSN 0021-8715. JSTOR 535841.
- ^ Schmerler, Gil (2017). Henrietta Schmerler and the Murder that Put Anthropology on Trial. Scrivana Press. ISBN 978-1365964084.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20220714224207/https://www.anthropology-news.org/2018/05/10/the-disavowal-of-henrietta-schmerler/
- ^ "Doing Fieldwork After Henrietta Schmerler On Sexual Violence and Blame in Anthropology Megan Steffen - American Ethnological Society". americanethnologist.org. 2017-11-13. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
- ^ Benedict, Ruth (2017-09-04). An Anthropologist at Work. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-53193-1.
- ^ "How Henrietta Schmerler Was Lost, Then Found". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2018-10-14. Retrieved 2024-12-08.