Abstract

KEMPER, Robert V.. The State and Anthropology in México and the United States: Reflections on the Tarasco Projects. Relac. Estud. hist. soc. [online]. 2011, vol.32, n.128, pp.209-241. ISSN 2448-7554.

The relation between "the State and anthropology", especially with regards its relevance to the development of anthropological work in Michoacán, can be understood through an analysis of the Tarasco Project, one that comprised distinct periods of fieldwork and distinct academic and political proposals. Those projects -including Sáenz' work in Carapan, Swadesh in Paracho, Beals in Cherán and Foster in Tzintzuntzan- represented a convergence produced by the interests of the governments of Mexico and the United States; one that emerged, undoubtedly, from the special circumstances of the time; i.e., the end of the Great Depression and the period of World War II. Those studies were conducted thanks to substantial economic and logistical support provided by several governmental agencies in both Mexico and the U.S. In that context, the anthropologists who participated in the Tarasco Project were not simple "intellectual intermediaries" but, rather, " institutional intermediaries" who fulfilled roles as agents of their respective governments.

Keywords : Tarasco Project; Carapan; Cherán; Tzintzuntzan; Michoacán.

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