George Peter Murdock's work in anthropology revolutionized the study of family structures and cultural universals. His systematic, comparative approach and functionalist perspective on gender roles and the nuclear family have influenced sociology and sparked debate. Murdock's identification of cultural universals and his analysis of family dynamics remain a significant part of his legacy, despite contemporary critiques challenging his views on the universality of the nuclear family and gender roles.
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Murdock's interest in human societies and cultures was sparked by his upbringing on a traditional farm
Phillips Academy
Murdock's formal education began at Phillips Academy
Yale University
Murdock earned a BA in American History from Yale University
Harvard Law School
Murdock briefly enrolled at Harvard Law School before redirecting his focus to anthropology
Murdock's extensive travels led him back to Yale, where he earned his PhD in 1925
Murdock pioneered a systematic, comparative, and cross-cultural approach in anthropology, particularly in the study of family structures
Through his cross-cultural research, Murdock identified a set of cultural universals that are present in every human society
Murdock's functionalist perspective posited that societies function as systems where each element serves a purpose to maintain equilibrium
Murdock defined the nuclear family as a social unit composed of a married couple and their offspring, serving four essential functions for societal stability
Murdock argued that gender roles are socially constructed and shaped by physical and psychological differences between men and women
Murdock's theories on the nuclear family and gender roles have been subject to critique, particularly from feminist scholars and contemporary anthropologists
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______, a prominent anthropologist, was born in the year ______ in ______, ______.
George Peter Murdock
1897
Meriden
Connecticut
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George Murdock's key works
Authored 'Social Structure' (1949) and 'Ethnographic Atlas' (1967), influential in anthropology.
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Focus of Murdock's comparative analysis
Aimed to identify universal patterns of human behavior across various societies.
