Margaret Mead was a distinguished anthropologist, an intellectual and a scientist. She is the author of numerous books on primitive societies, and she also wrote about many contemporary issues. She was born in Philadelphia on December 16th, 1901, and her parents were professors.
Barnard College was the place where Margaret studied, and became interested in the field of anthropology, which is the study of diversity among cultures. While in school, Margaret travelled to Samoa, in order to study how Samoan girls and American girls are raised differently. Margaret found that a girl’s personality is largely shaped by culture, and not by genetics. Her book, ‘Growing up in Samoa’, was considered a very important work, and her book is still a best seller.
Margaret continued her studies of different cultures. She devoted her entire life to teaching people that all cultures share things in common, even if the people of that culture are considered ‘primitive’. She went on to become the most famous and well-respected anthropologists in the world, and because of her, we all have a better understanding of the world and our place in it.
