11 Facts About Radcliffe-Brown

Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown, FBA was born on Alfred Reginald Brown; 17 January 1881 – 24 October 1955 and was an English social anthropologist who developed the theory of structural functionalism.

Radcliffe-Brown later changed his last name, by deed poll, to Radcliffe-Brown, Radcliffe being his mother's maiden name.

Radcliffe-Brown has been described as "the classic to Bronislaw Malinowski's romantic".

Radcliffe-Brown brought French sociology to British anthropology, constructing a rigorous battery of concepts to frame ethnography.

Radcliffe-Brown has often been associated with functionalism, and is considered by some to be the founder of structural functionalism.

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Nonetheless, Radcliffe-Brown vehemently denied being a functionalist, and carefully distinguished his concept of function from that of Malinowski, who openly advocated functionalism.

Radcliffe-Brown rejected both of these views because of the untestable nature of historical reconstructions.

Radcliffe-Brown claimed that there was an independent role for social anthropology here, separate from psychology, though not in conflict with it.

Radcliffe-Brown carried out extensive fieldwork in the Andaman Islands, Australia, and elsewhere.

Radcliffe-Brown produced structural analyses of myths, including on the basis of the concept of binary distinctions and dialectical opposition, an idea later echoed by Levi-Strauss.

Radcliffe-Brown was often criticised for failing to consider the effect of historical changes in the societies he studied, in particular changes brought about by colonialism.