Anthropology: Death of Claude Levi-Strauss (Alain de Benoist, France)

Yesterday I asked Alain de Benoist off-Forum for his thoughts on the death of Claude Levi-Strauss, the “father of modern anthropology,” who died on 30 October at the age of 100. Alain writes:

Claude Lévi-Strauss’s death was not unexpected, as he was 100 years old. He was certainly the last of the “big” French theoreticians of the post-WWII period. I liked very much his writings (actually, I published an article by him in one of the journals I edit). Most of his works were dedicated to defending the diversity of peoples, races and cultures against ethnocentrism and against any kind of political and cultural universalism. He is considered a “classic” in the University. Many articles about his life and works will appear in the media.

JE comments: Levi-Strauss was a titan in the fields of critical theory and cultural studies, whose works (Tristes Tropiques, The Raw and the Cooked, etc.) were mandatory reading for graduate students in the Humanities. We used to joke about his “other” job, that of jeans manufacturer…

Many, many luminaries of the twentieth century have passed away in 2009. Claude Levi-Strauss was one of the greatest.