| This dissertation reconstructs the historical and cultural context of Zora Neale Hurston's anthropology by examining her relationship with some of the most famous anthropologists of the twentieth-century: Franz Boas, Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead. Although her relationship with Boas has been widely recognized, her connection to the female anthropologists of the day has been largely ignored.; At the start of the dissertation, I correct the imbalance of attention focused on Boas as Hurston's overbearing mentor. Using newly-released material from the archives of Ruth Benedict, I demonstrate that Hurston had a closer relationship with Benedict than Boas.; After this consideration of Hurston's anthropological education, I reconstruct the historical context of one of her fieldtrips, called the "Southern Expedition," to show how Hurston defined herself against Margaret Mead. Finally, I examine her collection of folklore, Mules and Men as a signification on the standard anthropological folklore collections written by Boas and Benedict. |
