American Anthropological Association

Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness, a documentary on anthropologist Melville J Herskovits, screened this weekend at the Hollywood Black Film Festival. According to California Newsreel, the film asks:

Is there a politics of knowledge? Who controls what knowledge is produced and how it will be used? Is there “objective” scholarship and, if so, how does it become politicized? These questions are examined through this groundbreaking film on the life and career of Melville J. Herskovits (1895-1963), the pioneering American anthropologist of African Studies and one of the most controversial intellectuals of the 20th century. How did this son of Jewish immigrants come to play such a decisive role in the shaping of modern African American and African identities? Herskovits emerges as an iconic figure in on-going debates in the social sciences over the ethics of representation and the right of a people to represent themselves.

Additional information and a video clip are available through California Newsreel and Vital Pictures. The film will premiere on the PBS series Independent Lens in the 2009-10 season, and has recently appeared in other film festivals and screenings from Boston to Evanston to Jacksonville. It is described as a key educational film for anthropology, African Studies and African American studies courses, and features interviews with anthropologists Lee D Baker, Johnnetta B Cole and others.

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