Continuities in Cultural Evolution

Margaret Mead once said, "I have spent most of my life studying the lives of other peoples-faraway peoples-so that Americans might better understand themselves." Continuities in Cultural Evolution is evidence of this devotion. All of Mead's efforts were intended to help others learn about themselves & work toward a more humane & socially responsible society. Scientist, writer, explorer, & teacher, Mead brought the serious work of anthropology into the public consciousness. This volume began as the Terry Lectures, given at Yale in 1957 & was not published until 1964, after extensive reworking. The time she spent on revision is evidence of the importance Mead attached to the subject: the need to develop a truly evolutionary vision of human culture & society. This was desirable in her eyes both in order to reinforce the historical dimension in our ideas about human culture, & to preserve the relevance of historical & cultural diversity to social, economic, & political action. Given the present state of academic & public discourse alike, this volume speaks to us in a language we badly need to recover.