Adam Kuper facts for kids

Adam Jonathan Kuper (born December 29, 1941) is a well-known South African anthropologist. An anthropologist is a scientist who studies human societies and cultures. Kuper is especially known for his work in social anthropology. This field looks at how people live in groups and how their societies work. He often thinks carefully about the idea of "culture" in his studies. He looks at how people use this idea, not just what it means.

About Adam Kuper

Adam Kuper grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. His parents were Simon Meyer Kuper and Gertrude Hesselman. He went to Parktown Boys' High School. Later, he studied at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

He then went to the University of Cambridge in England for his advanced studies. For his doctorate degree, he did fieldwork in the Kalahari Desert in what is now Botswana. Fieldwork means living with and observing people in their natural environment to learn about their culture.

After finishing his studies, he returned to Africa. He continued his fieldwork in Botswana and Uganda. His uncle, Leo Kuper, was a sociologist, and his aunt, Hilda Kuper, was also an anthropologist.

His Career and Awards

Adam Kuper married Jessica Cohen in 1966. From 1967 to 1970, he taught at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Then, from 1970 to 1976, he taught at University College London in England.

He became a professor of African anthropology at Leiden University in the Netherlands from 1976 to 1985. After that, he taught at Brunel University from 1985 to 2008. At Brunel, he helped start the Department of Human Sciences. He also led the Anthropology Department there.

Adam Kuper has received important awards for his work. In 2000, he was given the Rivers Memorial Medal. In 2007, he received the Huxley Memorial Medal. Both awards are from the Royal Anthropological Institute. These medals are given to people who have made big contributions to anthropology.

More recently, Kuper was a visiting professor at Boston University from 2011 to 2014. He also held a special visiting position at the London School of Economics from 2013 to 2014. He still has a visiting role there. He has lived in Muswell Hill, England, for over 25 years. His son, Simon Kuper, is a well-known writer about football.

His Research Work

In the early 1970s, Adam Kuper did fieldwork in Jamaica. He worked with the National Planning Agency there. However, his main focus was on the societies of Southern Africa. He has written several books about these societies.

In 1973, he published a book about the history of British social anthropology. Since then, he has continued to study the history of ideas in anthropology. His recent work includes a book about the idea of culture in anthropology.

He has also guided many students who were working on their PhD degrees. These students studied topics like Southern African cultures, the history of anthropology, family businesses, and kinship.

Selected Books by Adam Kuper

• Wives for Cattle: Bridewealth and Marriage in Southern Africa, (Routledge, 1982)
• The Invention of primitive society: Transformations of an Illusion, (Routledge, 1988)
• The Chosen Primate: Human Nature and Cultural Diversity, (Harvard University Press, 1994)
• Anthropology and Anthropologists: The Modern British School, (Routledge, 3rd edn, 1996)
• The Social Science Encyclopaedia Adam Kuper, Jessica Kuper (eds.). (Taylor & Francis, 1996)
• Culture: The Anthropologists' Account, (Harvard University Press, 1999)
• ... and Influence: The Private Life of Bourgeois England, (Harvard, 2009, ISBN: 978-0-674-03589-8)
• The Museum of Other People. From Colonial Acquisitions to Cosmopolitan Exhibitions, (Profile Books, 2023, ISBN: 978-1-800810-91-4)