Jules Henry

Jules Henry (November 29, 1904 – September 23, 1969) was a noted American anthropologist.

Henry earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from Columbia University in 1935. Afterwards, he was employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Labor and held various teaching positions at the University of Chicago and in Mexico City. During this time, Henry conducted sociological research on various indigenous tribes in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. From 1947 to his death in 1969, Henry served as professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis.

Henry wrote "Culture Against Man" (1963) questioning the authority of and rationale behind cultural institutions, particularly education, and "Pathways to Madness" (1965), concerning mental and developmental disorders and raises the question how disease and disorder arise from dependencies on families and institutions. His work that presaged much of current focus on finding ways to improve failing schools and contend with a culture that is educated primarily by paid media is hugely influential, but largely left out of print and hard to find.

He argued in favor of recognizing the collective nature of experience and in favor of analyzing and constructing institutions with greater collectivity and social responsibility in mind.

External links

* [http://library.wustl.edu/units/spec/archives/guides/pdf/henry.pdf Jules Henry's papers at Washington University:]