[Linganth] The Un-naming of Kroeber Hall

[Ilana Gershon]

Dear Colleagues,
This week on the blog, Carolina Rodriguez Alzza interviews Andrew Garrett
about his new book, The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall.

campanthropology.org

Best,
Ilana

Press blurb: In January 2021, at a time when many institutions were
reevaluating fraught histories, the University of California removed
anthropologist and linguist Alfred Kroeber's name from a building on its
Berkeley campus. Critics accused Kroeber of racist and dehumanizing
practices that harmed Indigenous people; university leaders repudiated his
values. In *The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall*, Andrew Garrett examines
Kroeber's work in the early twentieth century and his legacy today, asking
how a vigorous opponent of racism and advocate for Indigenous rights in his
own era became a symbol of his university's failed relationships with
Native communities. Garrett argues that Kroeber's most important work has
been overlooked: his collaborations with Indigenous people throughout
California to record their languages and stories.

*The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall* offers new perspectives on the early
practice of anthropology and linguistics and on its significance today and
in the future. Kroeber's documentation was broader and more collaborative
and multifaceted than is usually recognized. As a result, the records
Indigenous people created while working with him are relevant throughout
California as communities revive languages, names, songs, and stories.
Garrett asks readers to consider these legacies, arguing that the
University of California chose to reject critical self-examination when it
unnamed Kroeber Hall.
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