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[The following is from the Purdue Creative Thinking Program #32, Margaret Mead.]

Summary

Margaret Mead's childhood was quite different from that of most girls her age. She was the first child to be born in a new hospital; most babies were born at home at that time. She received most of her education at home, from her grandmother, until she went to high school. Margaret's family moved often, and whenever they settled in a new town her mother would find an expert craftsman or artist to give the children lessons. Margaret learned a great deal about art, music, woodcarving and carpentry, and even learned to build a small loom. Another unusual thing about her was that she had never been taught that a woman's place is in the home. Her mother had gone to college and graduate school, her grandmother had been a teacher and principal at a time when married women almost never worked. She had always planned to complete college and possibly go on to graduate school. Her love for anthropology was based on curiosity about different kinds of people; she wanted to foster friendship between cultures, instead of fear and hatred born of ignorance. Her first field -work was in the South Pacific Islands of Samoa, studying adolescent girls. The native girls were very much at ease with her, since Margaret was only 23 her self. She wrote her first book, Coming of Age in Samoa, in such a clear, interesting style that it became a best seller. Her career continued to climb, as she spent her time at a New York museum or in the South Pacific. She was married three times, twice to other Anthropologists, and had one daughter, Catherine. She worked hard to raise her daughter to be an inquisitive, independent person. Margaret Mead lived well into her 70s, and was active in the problems of mental health and overpopulation. She spent her entire life studying people and using her knowledge to help understand world problems. (Feldhusen, 1988)

on the web

Site Celebrating Centenial of Mead's Birth
http://www.mead2001.org/

New York Times Obituary, 1978
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1216.html

Margaret Mead sites:
Yahoo/Mead's Category

© Mary E. Hopper [MEHopper] | MEHopper@TheWorld.com [posted 03/03/03 | revised 03/03/03]