Elsie Clews Parsons was a pioneering feminist, an eminent anthropologist, and an ardent social critic. In
Elsie Clews Parsons
, Desley Deacon reconstructs Parsons's efforts to overcome gender biases in both academia and society.
"Wonderfully illuminating. . . . Parsons's work resonates strikingly to current trends in anthropology."—George W. Stocking, Jr.,
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
"This is the biography of a woman so interesting and effective—a cross between Margaret Mead and Georgia O'Keeffe. . . . A nuanced portrait of this vivid woman."—Tanya Luhrmann,
New York Times Book Review
"A marvelous new book about the life of Elsie Clews Parsons. . . . It's as though she is sitting on the next rock, a contemporary struggling with the same issues that confront women today: how to combine work, love and child-rearing into one life."—Abigail Trafford,
Washington Post
"Parsons's splendid life and work continue to illuminate current puzzles about acculturation and diversity."—
New Yorker