fbpx
Wikipedia

Roger Sandall

April 11, 2024

Frederick Roger Sandall (18 December 1933 – 11 August 2012) was a New Zealand-born Australian anthropologist, essayist, cinematographer, and scholar.[1] He was a critic of romantic primitivism, which he called designer tribalism, and argued that this rooted Indigenous people in tradition and discouraged them to assimilate to Western culture.[2][3][4]

Roger Sandall
BornFrederick Roger Sandall
18 December 1933
Christchurch, New Zealand
Died11 August 2012(2012-08-11) (aged 78)
Australia
Alma materUniversity of Auckland (BA)
Columbia University (MFA)
SubjectAnthropology
Website
www.rogersandall.com

Early life edit

Sandall was born in Christchurch, New Zealand on 18 December 1933 and attended Takapuna Grammar School.[5] He studied anthropology at University of Auckland (BA, 1956) and received his MFA (1962) from Columbia University.[5][6][7] Among his teachers were Margaret Mead and Cecile Starr.[7] He filmed Maíz as partial fulfilment of his MFA at Columbia in 1962.[7] In 1965, he accepted a fellowship in anthropology at Columbia.[8][7]

Career edit

Sandall was finishing a librarianship course and taking photographs of the protests at Berkeley when MOMA's Willard Van Dyke recommended him to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) as a "one-man film unit."[7] Between 1966 and 1973, Sandall made a number of documentaries, oftentimes featuring sacred rituals that were shown only to small audiences in an effort to respect the privacy of these events. Despite this, he won the first prize for documentary at the Venice Film Festival in 1968 for his film Emu Ritual at Ruguri.[6][9][10][7]

After leaving AIAS in the early 1970s, Sandall became a political activist for the rights of Indigenous Australians.[7] In 1973, Sandall joined the anthropology department at the University of Sydney as a lecturer.[5][11] He wrote for a number of journals including The American Interest, Art International, Commentary, The New Criterion, Merkur, Encounter, and Quadrant.[6][5][12] He replaced Peter Coleman as the editor of Quadrant from March 1988 to January 1989, after which he quit due to a public political clash and difficulty in drumming up interest among writers.[11][13][14] He retired from teaching in 1993.[citation needed] In 2001, he published The Culture Cult with an American firm after comments he had made at a conference years prior were "grossly distorted in a[n Australian] newspaper report."[15] In 2003, the book won him a Centenary Medal.[6]

Sandall was a strong critic of romantic primitivism. He coined the term designer tribalism to criticise Western anthropologists' perpetuation of the noble savage archetype and the "Disneyfication" of Indigenous people's relationship with nature by "forcing" them to continue practicing their ancestral traditions.[3][2][16][17] He specifically criticises the Māori people for hunting practices that caused the extinction of the moa bird, which he felt was proof that these rituals were being maintained for Western tourism.[17][18] He named Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict, Robert Owen, and John Humphrey Noyes as part of the "culture cult" that kept designer tribalism alive.[17] A quote from The Culture Cult reads: "If your traditional way of life has no alphabet, no writing, no books, and no libraries, and yet you are continually told that you have a culture which is 'rich', 'complex', and 'sophisticated', how can you realistically see your place in the scheme of things? If all such hyperbole were true, who would need books or writing? Why not hang up a 'Gone Fishing' sign and head for the beach?"[3][19] He also felt that "repression, economic backwardness, endemic disease, religious fanaticism, and severe artistic constraints" were inherent within primitive Indigenous cultures.[3][4] He believed that the White Australia policy and similar legislations improved the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians and supported cultural assimilation into what he called "modern civilisation".[3][4][20]

Personal life edit

Sandall was married to Bay Books publisher Philippa; they had two children, Richard and Emma. He died on 11 August 2012 in Australia.[21][1]

Select publications edit

Books edit

  • The Culture Cult: Designer Tribalism and Other Essays (2001), Westview Press.

Essays edit

  • "When I Hear the Word ‘Culture’: From Arnold to Anthropology" (1980), Encounter, 325, 84-92.
  • "The Rise of the Anthropologue" (1986), Encounter, 70 (12): 66-71.
  • "Nihilism in the Middle East" (2004), Commentary, 118 (5): 38-44.
  • "What Native Peoples Deserve" (2005), Commentary, 119 (5): 54-59.
  • "The Culture Cult Revisited" (2008), Social Science and Modern Society, 45 (3): 233-238.

Filmography edit

  • Maíz (1962)[22][7]
  • Walbiri Ritual at Ngama (1966)[22]
  • Djungguan at Yirrkala (1966)
  • The Mulga Seed Ceremony (1967)
  • Emu Ritual at Ruguri (1967)[22]
  • Gunabibi: An Aboriginal Fertility Cult (1968)[22]
  • Walbiri Ritual at Gunadjarai (1969)[22]
  • Camels and the Pitjantjara (1969)[23][22]
  • Making a Bark Canoe (1969)[23]
  • Pintubi Revisit Yumari (1970)[22]
  • Pintubi Revisit Yaru-Yaru (1972)
  • What You Thinkin' About, Little Horse? (1972)[7]
  • Coniston Munster: Scenes from a Stockman's Life (1972)[23][22]
  • Larwari and Walkara (1976)
  • Weddings (1976)[7]
  • A Walbiri Fire Ceremony - Ngatjakula (1977)[23]
  • The Tragada Bhavai: A Rural Theater Troupe of Gujarat[7]
  • A Zenana Scenes and Recollections (1982)[7]
  • Nomads (1984)[7]
  • The Bharvad Predicament (1987)[7]
  • Close Encounters of No Kind (2002)[7]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Roger Sandall". Sydney Morning Herald. August 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b Hirsi Ali, Ayaan (12 June 2010). "Facing up to radical Islam". The Gazette. Montreal, Canada. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e Peacock, Janice (2006). "Culture Cullt Clan 2001: comments on the survival of Torres Strait culture". Aboriginal History. 30: 138–155. JSTOR 24046902. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Malcolm, Ian (2002). "Coming to Terms with Diversity: Educational Responses to Linguistic Plurality in Australia" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Australienstudien. 16: 17–30. doi:10.35515/zfa/asj.16/2002.04. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d "Appendix I" (PDF). The Samuel Griffith Society. 1997. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d "Roger Sandall". ABC. n.d. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Mortimer, Lorraine (2019). Roger Sandall's Films and Contemporary Anthropology: Explorations in the Aesthetic, the Existential, and the Possible. Indiana University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctvpb3wgk.4. JSTOR j.ctvpb3wgk.4.
  8. ^ "A Grand Ride". The Atlantic. 1959. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Award film reserved for select audiences". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia. 27 November 1989. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  10. ^ Dunlop, Ian (1979). "Ethnographic Film-Making in Australia the First Seventy Years (1898-1968)". Aboriginal History. 3 (1/2): 111–119. JSTOR 24045736. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  11. ^ a b Coleman, Peter (27 November 1989). "A literary giant confronted by pygmy poison". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Earth - Contributors" (PDF). Millennium House Australia. n.d. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  13. ^ "The perils and pitfalls of publishing the Right". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia. 27 November 1989. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  14. ^ "Stepping out". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia. 30 October 1987. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  15. ^ Arndt, Bettina (26 April 2001). "A culture of Denial". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  16. ^ Kenny, Denis (30 June 2001). "It's cosmic, man". The Gazette. Sydney, Australia. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  17. ^ a b c Kimball, Roger (2001). "The perils of designer tribalism". The New Criterion. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  18. ^ Levine, H.B. (1987). "New Zealand". Commentary. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  19. ^ Sandall, Roger (2001). The Culture Cult Designer Tribalism And Other Essays. Avalon Publishing. ISBN 9780813338637.
  20. ^ Mcinnes, Rod (15 May 2001). "Inequality is not a black or white issue". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Performing - it's in the blood". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia. 12 September 1992. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h . British Film Institute. n.d. Archived from the original on 23 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  23. ^ a b c d "Roger Sandall". Ronin Films. n.d. Retrieved 16 July 2022.

April 11, 2024
roger, sandall, frederick, december, 1933, august, 2012, zealand, born, australian, anthropologist, essayist, cinematographer, scholar, critic, romantic, primitivism, which, called, designer, tribalism, argued, that, this, rooted, indigenous, people, tradition. Frederick Roger Sandall 18 December 1933 11 August 2012 was a New Zealand born Australian anthropologist essayist cinematographer and scholar 1 He was a critic of romantic primitivism which he called designer tribalism and argued that this rooted Indigenous people in tradition and discouraged them to assimilate to Western culture 2 3 4 Roger SandallBornFrederick Roger Sandall18 December 1933Christchurch New ZealandDied11 August 2012 2012 08 11 aged 78 AustraliaAlma materUniversity of Auckland BA Columbia University MFA SubjectAnthropologyWebsitewww wbr rogersandall wbr com Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Select publications 4 1 Books 4 2 Essays 5 Filmography 6 ReferencesEarly life editSandall was born in Christchurch New Zealand on 18 December 1933 and attended Takapuna Grammar School 5 He studied anthropology at University of Auckland BA 1956 and received his MFA 1962 from Columbia University 5 6 7 Among his teachers were Margaret Mead and Cecile Starr 7 He filmed Maiz as partial fulfilment of his MFA at Columbia in 1962 7 In 1965 he accepted a fellowship in anthropology at Columbia 8 7 Career editSandall was finishing a librarianship course and taking photographs of the protests at Berkeley when MOMA s Willard Van Dyke recommended him to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies AIAS as a one man film unit 7 Between 1966 and 1973 Sandall made a number of documentaries oftentimes featuring sacred rituals that were shown only to small audiences in an effort to respect the privacy of these events Despite this he won the first prize for documentary at the Venice Film Festival in 1968 for his film Emu Ritual at Ruguri 6 9 10 7 After leaving AIAS in the early 1970s Sandall became a political activist for the rights of Indigenous Australians 7 In 1973 Sandall joined the anthropology department at the University of Sydney as a lecturer 5 11 He wrote for a number of journals including The American Interest Art International Commentary The New Criterion Merkur Encounter and Quadrant 6 5 12 He replaced Peter Coleman as the editor of Quadrant from March 1988 to January 1989 after which he quit due to a public political clash and difficulty in drumming up interest among writers 11 13 14 He retired from teaching in 1993 citation needed In 2001 he published The Culture Cult with an American firm after comments he had made at a conference years prior were grossly distorted in a n Australian newspaper report 15 In 2003 the book won him a Centenary Medal 6 Sandall was a strong critic of romantic primitivism He coined the term designer tribalism to criticise Western anthropologists perpetuation of the noble savage archetype and the Disneyfication of Indigenous people s relationship with nature by forcing them to continue practicing their ancestral traditions 3 2 16 17 He specifically criticises the Maori people for hunting practices that caused the extinction of the moa bird which he felt was proof that these rituals were being maintained for Western tourism 17 18 He named Margaret Mead Ruth Benedict Robert Owen and John Humphrey Noyes as part of the culture cult that kept designer tribalism alive 17 A quote from The Culture Cult reads If your traditional way of life has no alphabet no writing no books and no libraries and yet you are continually told that you have a culture which is rich complex and sophisticated how can you realistically see your place in the scheme of things If all such hyperbole were true who would need books or writing Why not hang up a Gone Fishing sign and head for the beach 3 19 He also felt that repression economic backwardness endemic disease religious fanaticism and severe artistic constraints were inherent within primitive Indigenous cultures 3 4 He believed that the White Australia policy and similar legislations improved the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians and supported cultural assimilation into what he called modern civilisation 3 4 20 Personal life editSandall was married to Bay Books publisher Philippa they had two children Richard and Emma He died on 11 August 2012 in Australia 21 1 Select publications editBooks edit The Culture Cult Designer Tribalism and Other Essays 2001 Westview Press Essays edit When I Hear the Word Culture From Arnold to Anthropology 1980 Encounter 325 84 92 The Rise of the Anthropologue 1986 Encounter 70 12 66 71 Nihilism in the Middle East 2004 Commentary 118 5 38 44 What Native Peoples Deserve 2005 Commentary 119 5 54 59 The Culture Cult Revisited 2008 Social Science and Modern Society 45 3 233 238 Filmography editMaiz 1962 22 7 Walbiri Ritual at Ngama 1966 22 Djungguan at Yirrkala 1966 The Mulga Seed Ceremony 1967 Emu Ritual at Ruguri 1967 22 Gunabibi An Aboriginal Fertility Cult 1968 22 Walbiri Ritual at Gunadjarai 1969 22 Camels and the Pitjantjara 1969 23 22 Making a Bark Canoe 1969 23 Pintubi Revisit Yumari 1970 22 Pintubi Revisit Yaru Yaru 1972 What You Thinkin About Little Horse 1972 7 Coniston Munster Scenes from a Stockman s Life 1972 23 22 Larwari and Walkara 1976 Weddings 1976 7 A Walbiri Fire Ceremony Ngatjakula 1977 23 The Tragada Bhavai A Rural Theater Troupe of Gujarat 7 A Zenana Scenes and Recollections 1982 7 Nomads 1984 7 The Bharvad Predicament 1987 7 Close Encounters of No Kind 2002 7 References edit a b Roger Sandall Sydney Morning Herald August 2012 Retrieved 16 July 2022 a b Hirsi Ali Ayaan 12 June 2010 Facing up to radical Islam The Gazette Montreal Canada Retrieved 22 July 2022 a b c d e Peacock Janice 2006 Culture Cullt Clan 2001 comments on the survival of Torres Strait culture Aboriginal History 30 138 155 JSTOR 24046902 Retrieved 21 July 2022 a b c Malcolm Ian 2002 Coming to Terms with Diversity Educational Responses to Linguistic Plurality in Australia PDF Zeitschrift fur Australienstudien 16 17 30 doi 10 35515 zfa asj 16 2002 04 Retrieved 21 July 2022 a b c d Appendix I PDF The Samuel Griffith Society 1997 Retrieved 16 July 2022 a b c d Roger Sandall ABC n d Retrieved 16 July 2022 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Mortimer Lorraine 2019 Roger Sandall s Films and Contemporary Anthropology Explorations in the Aesthetic the Existential and the Possible Indiana University Press doi 10 2307 j ctvpb3wgk 4 JSTOR j ctvpb3wgk 4 A Grand Ride The Atlantic 1959 Retrieved 16 July 2022 Award film reserved for select audiences The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney Australia 27 November 1989 Retrieved 16 July 2022 Dunlop Ian 1979 Ethnographic Film Making in Australia the First Seventy Years 1898 1968 Aboriginal History 3 1 2 111 119 JSTOR 24045736 Retrieved 21 July 2022 a b Coleman Peter 27 November 1989 A literary giant confronted by pygmy poison The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney Australia Retrieved 16 July 2022 Earth Contributors PDF Millennium House Australia n d Retrieved 22 July 2022 The perils and pitfalls of publishing the Right The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney Australia 27 November 1989 Retrieved 16 July 2022 Stepping out The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney Australia 30 October 1987 Retrieved 19 July 2022 Arndt Bettina 26 April 2001 A culture of Denial The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney Australia Retrieved 16 July 2022 Kenny Denis 30 June 2001 It s cosmic man The Gazette Sydney Australia Retrieved 22 July 2022 a b c Kimball Roger 2001 The perils of designer tribalism The New Criterion Retrieved 22 July 2022 Levine H B 1987 New Zealand Commentary Retrieved 22 July 2022 Sandall Roger 2001 The Culture Cult Designer Tribalism And Other Essays Avalon Publishing ISBN 9780813338637 Mcinnes Rod 15 May 2001 Inequality is not a black or white issue The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney Australia Retrieved 22 July 2022 Performing it s in the blood The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney Australia 12 September 1992 Retrieved 16 July 2022 a b c d e f g h Roger Sandall British Film Institute n d Archived from the original on 23 July 2022 Retrieved 16 July 2022 a b c d Roger Sandall Ronin Films n d Retrieved 16 July 2022 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Roger Sandall amp oldid 1216642649, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.