Eric Wolf (1923-1999) was an anthropologist best known for his studies of Latin America and his advocacy of Marxist perspectives within anthropology. 1923 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Anthropology (from the Greek word άνθρωπος = human) consists of the study of humankind (see genus Homo). ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ...

Wolf was born in Vienna, but his Jewish family moved first to England and then America to avoid persecution, and Wolf was raised largely in New York. He fought overseas in WWII and developed and interest in other cultures. Like many returning soldiers he took advantage of the newly-minted GI Bill to get a college education. Wolf began studying anthropology at Columbia University. German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ... The G. I. Bill of Rights or Servicemens Readjustment Act of 1944 provided for college or vocational education for returning World War II veterans as well as one-year of unemployment compensation. ... Anthropology (from the Greek word άνθρωπος = human) consists of the study of humankind (see genus Homo). ... Columbia University is a private university in New York City. ...

Columbia had been the home of Franz Boas for many years, and was the central location for the spread of anthropology in America. By the time Wolf had arrived Boas had passed away and his anthropological style, which was suspicious of generalization and preferred detailed studies of particular subjects, was also out of fashion. The new chair of the anthropology department was Julian Steward, a student of Robert Lowie and Alfred Kroeber. Steward was interested in creating a scientific anthropology which explained how societies evolved and adapted to their physical environment. Franz Boas Franz Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 22, 1942) was one of the pioneers of modern anthropology and is often called the Father of American Anthropology. Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did post-doctoral work in geography. ... Julian Haynes Steward (January 31, 1902 - February 6, 1972) was an American anthropologist best known for his role in the development of a scientific theory of cultural evolution in the years following WWII. Biography Steward was born to a family of devout Christian Scientists in Washington, D.C.. His family... Robert Harry Lowie (1883-1957) was an Austrian-born American anthropologist. ... Alfred Louis Kroeber Alfred Louis Kroeber (June 11, 1876–October 5, 1960) was one of the most influential figures in American anthropology in the first half of the twentieth century. ...

Wolf was one of the coterie of students who developed around Steward. Older students' leftist beliefs, Marxist in orientation, worked well with Steward's less politicized evolutionism. Many anthropologists prominent in the 1980s such as Marvin Harris, Sidney Mintz, Morton Fried, Stanley Diamond, and Robert F. Murphy were among this group. Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... Marvin Harris (August 18, 1927 - October 25, 2001) was an American anthropologist and highly influential in the development of cultural materialism. ...

Wolf's dissertation research was carried out as part of Steward's 'People of Puerto Rico' project. Soon after, Wolf began teaching at the University of Michigan, where he spent the remainder of his career. In addition to his Latin American work, Wolf also did fieldwork in Europe. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public coeducational university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ...

Wolf's relevance to anthropology lies in the fact that he focused on issues of power, politics, and colonialism during the 1970s and 1980s when these topics were moving to the center of disciplinary concerns. His most well-known book, Europe and the People Without History, is famous for demonstrating that non-Europeans were caught up in global processes like the fur and slave trades. Thus they were not 'frozen in time' or 'isolated' but had always been deeply implicated in world history. The fur trade was a huge part in the early economic development of North America. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Towards the end of his life he warned of the 'intellectual deforestation' that occurred when anthropology focused on high-flown theory instead of sticking to the realities of life and fieldwork. Wolf struggled with cancer later in life, and died in 1999.

Books by Eric Wolf

• Peasant Wars of the Twentieth Century
• Anthropology
• Peasants
• Europe and the People Without History
• Envisioning Power
• Sons of the Shaking Earth