Transcript of Face-to-Face Interview with Dr.

John Poggie Jr, Professor of

Anthropology at the University of Rhode Island
What do you do in the field of anthropology?
I am a cultural anthropologist who does research on coastal people and their resources.
As an anthropologist, what are your views on the nature vs. nurture debate?
Well I guess I have to say society is based on both nature and nurture, not just one alone.
I believe some aspects of society have to deal specifically with nature, others with nurture, but it
is mostly a mix.
How familiar are you with Margaret Meads research?
I am very familiar with her research. I teach a course on anthropological theorists and
shes one of the theorists we discuss. We talk about her work in Samoa and New Guinea. She
really tried to help contribute to broadening peoples views on gender roles today.
Mead was a student of Franz Boas, who was considered a father of anthropology and
worked at Columbia University. He was very strong in trying to promote cultural relativity by
trying to understand peoples cultures by visiting their culture. She had an undergraduate degree
in psychology before she wanted to study anthropology. Once she was finished getting her
degree, she wanted to study Samoans and test their ideas in non-western cultures. Mead wanted
to discover if a stressful time in our society, such as adolescence, was as stressful in another
society. She didnt believe that adolescence was a stressful time everywhere and wanted to
defend this proposition. She discovered some pretty excellent data to support her point of view.
Did you ever meet Margaret Mead?
I did meet Margaret on multiple occasions. In 1968, I was at an American
Anthropological Association meeting and I was a new graduate from college. We were at a
session where important people just got up and talk. We were talking about equilibrium models
and out of nowhere, one professor says, I wonder what Margaret Mead would think about this!
All of a sudden everyone turned to look at me. I then slowly turned around and there she was!
Margaret Mead! She was holding this forked staff she got from New Guinea. It was very
interesting and bizarre.
The most hilarious time we had an interaction was when I was outside painting my house
and Margaret Mead called! It was before she came for her semester and we were discussing her
arrangements and all of a sudden she hung up! I was so insecure because I thought that somehow
I offended her. It was one of her weird quirks not to say goodbye to people on the phone but it
made me feel uncomfortable.

The second time I encountered her was in 1972 when we had extra money in our
department to bring in a visiting scholar for a semester. Margaret Mead spent a full semester here
at URI! I was in my office and looked out into the parking lot to see that a limousine had arrived.
I went to greet her with my other colleagues. Out came an arm with her forked staff and there
was Margaret Mead! She taught the course Cultural Behavior and the Environment which is
still being taught here today.
Another weird experience was when I once had a party at my house and I was sitting. I
guess I was bent over too much because she yelled at me to stand up straighter! I took her to
Newport once for lunch and a couple of beers she was quite a tough lady.
One time we were having a symposium focusing on her work. She just got up with
absolutely nothing prepared. We recorded it and she thought it was perfect and didnt want to
make any edits and had us type the transcript. It was odd.
How do you feel Margaret Mead has contributed to modern day anthropology?
Margaret Mead used the methodology of participant observation. She gained her trust
with the people she was researching and tried to observe by trying to participate as much as
possible in their culture. There were no advanced methods in anthropology at this time. She took
a similar approach compared to those from Boas. She really started the methodology of
participant observation. She asked projective questions and used systematic instruments similar
to psychology. She took the step of qualitative research instead of quantitative research. Today,
participant observation is the first step of modern-day anthropologists. You can start measuring
using systematic research methods.
Do anthropologists mostly use quantitative or qualitative data?
It really depends on the question youre trying to answer. Different topics will use
quantitative or qualitative data.
What are your thoughts regarding the controversy Margaret Mead received involving her
research in Samoa?
Derek Freeman came into Samoa and interview people that Margaret Mead came in
contact with. According to what he discovered, some of Meads informants lied. His claims were
never supported by any real evidence. Its unfortunate that people do this. It was awful. It seems
that he was hoping to become famous by attacking one of the most well-known anthropologists
in the entire world.
Is there a modern-day anthropologist who has been attacked?
Napolean Chagnon is now being attacked by an investigative reporter. Chagnon observed
the Yanomam tribe and supposedly withheld medicine during a measles outbreak to see how

they would react. There was no real evidence for any of the criticism he received. Its unfortunate
that people dont try to be objective about research.
Is there any other anthropologist you feel has made an impact as much as Margaret Mead?
Who? How?
Marvin Harris. Marvin Harris developed the theory of cultural materialism and wrote a
book about this. Many people despise him because he had an abrasive personality. Harris says
we should go and study material conditions and ideological places of culture. Popularization
anthropology was mostly started by Marvin Harris and Margaret Mead.
How has Margaret Mead affected the feminist movement?
Margaret Mead affected the feminist movement by pointing out that our way of thinking
and doing things were not the only way to think and do things. She gave opportunity for
American women to open up white opinions on their roles and lives in general.