Just a quick update of some highlights of recent coverage on the passing of Lévi-Strauss:
In addition to the New York Times, there are fine obituaries in The Telegraph, and The Guardian — I’ll get to the French papers later if I have a chance.
There is a fine gaggle of links at The Atlantic.
The AAA blog has run a couple of pieces about Lévi-Strauss, including one by Richard Price. There is also an older posting from Marshall Sahlins, which is, obviously, a much better summary of Lévi-Strauss’s thought and relevance than mine. And written by someone who should know, so check it out.
There is a lot of Lévi-Strauss’s writing circulating around the web, including a great collection of pieces he wrote for UNESCO (some of them you will recognize as versions of longer, more famous essays). Perhaps best of all, his little gem Father Christmas Executed is available as a pdf. If you’ve never read any Lévi-Strauss at all, this fun short piece (with both diachronic and synchronic perspectives, and a zinger of an ending) is a good place to start.
Scott Atran has also posted an account of his encounter with Levi-Strauss during the mid-70s, at Cognition and Culture: http://tinyurl.com/yekpsgc
I’d be fun if someone was to collect the stories told about Levi-Strauss and subject them to some of his own analysis techniques…It seems that there are a bunch of good ones floating about and it might be a fitting memorial of a sort. Analyzing anthropologist’s culture through the myths and stories we tell and pass along…
Thank you for the pointer to Father Christmas Executed, enjoyed it the first time.
I agree, the Father Christmas essay is such a witty piece.
For those who speak French, I posted a link to archive video and audio material (mostly interviews LS did) here http://www.urbi-orbi.net/2009/11/farewell-lv