Robert S. Newman

Robert S. Newman

Robert S Newman (born February 12, 1943 ) is an anthropologist based in Marblehead, Massachusetts, USA, primarily known for his contribution to studying post-1961 Goa, India.

Early life and education

Newman was born Robert Samuel Newman in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in Marblehead, Mass., the son of Morris M. Newman and Ethel Solmer Newman, both children of Jewish immigrants from Tsarist Russia. Music was his first love, but it turned out to be a short one. A chance to be an exchange student in Japan in 1959, turned Newman towards Asia and he earned his B.A. in Asian Studies from Cornell University in 1964. He then went to India as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Early anthropology work

After the Peace Corps, he working briefly in Honduras. He then worked two years in Lucknow at Literacy House, learned Hindustani, and married an Indian woman, Sudha Dubey. Returning to Cornell, he pursued higher degrees in a combination of Organizational Behavior and Anthropology. After short stints teaching at the University of Chicago and SUNY Cortland in 1973, Newman immigrated to Australia with his wife to start teaching at La Trobe University in Melbourne.

He had long wished to study Goa, after a serendipitous visit in 1965, and now he found his chance. He was able to begin research there in 1978 and returned many times over the next 12 years. During this period, he also taught in Xi'an, China and at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. Newman remained at La Trobe University until 1989, when he returned to Marblehead to start a new life in an old place. He wound up teaching English as a Second Language in the immigrant community from the former Soviet Union, but continued working on Goa, publishing a book and several more articles, attending conferences.

Goa work

Newman was the first to apply modern anthropological theory and writing to the study of Goan society, his main arguments being that Goa has never been part of Portugal, but rather a slightly Lusitanized region of India and that Goan culture must be seen as a syncretic Hindu-Catholic one. A second conclusion is that the same "Green Revolution" process that increased grain production in India, was also successfully applied to fishing in Goa (and elsewhere in India) but that the human and ecological price paid has been extremely high. Overall, he attempts to show that popular religion in Goa, as separate from the classical versions of Catholicism and Hinduism, is a rich synthesis of the two in which goddesses can be seen (for example) as either Shantadurga or Our Lady, in which Hindus attend certain Catholic feast day ceremonies and Catholics make donations to Hindu temples.

Newman argues that in Goa, as in such places as Mexico, Peru, Brazil, the Philippines, and Mauritius, contact between two or more civilizations created a "fascinating synthesis". He says this synthesis is "one that had been steadfastly slighted by anthropologists, who wanted to study "pure" India, whatever that may be!" In line with this argument, he did a stint of research in Mauritius in 1987, concentrating on popular Hinduism in its various aspects among the "overseas Indians" there.

Writings

Newman's original field work in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, resulted in a book "Grassroots Education in India", published by Sterling (New Delhi) in 1989. That book looks at the organizational effectiveness of three primary schools in Lucknow District: a typical village school, a maktab, and a middle class, urban school run by Christian Brothers. Newman has written other articles on the nexus of education and culture in North India, Muslim education, Indian Jews, Hindi films, a comparison of the Vietnamese and Cambodian revolutions, the transformation of knowledge in Albania, and on extension education and approaches to agricultural development.

Newman has written a wide variety of articles on Goa. Many of them are combined in his book "Of Umbrellas, Goddesses and Dreams" which is published by the Mapusa (Goa)-based Other India Press. He is a semi-professional photographer and has had 13 one-man exhibitions over the last 27 years, selling hundreds of prints.

External links

* [http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A1TIZI060W4BD9?_encoding=UTF8 Reviews by Robert S "Bob" Newman]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Robert Loftin Newman — (November 10, 1827 March 31, 1912) was an American painter. He specialized in oil on canvas as his medium. He is sometimes associated with Albert Pinkham Ryder as a painter of mood.His works include Good Samaritan , painted in 1886, Flight into… …   Wikipedia

  • Robert Newman (comedian) — Robert ( Rob ) Newman (born 7 July 1964) is a British stand up comedian, author and political activist. In 1993 Newman and his then comedy partner David Baddiel became the first comedians to play and sell out the 12,000 seat Wembley Arena in… …   Wikipedia

  • Robert Newman — can refer to: * Robert Newman (actor), known for his long running role on Guiding Light * Robert Newman (comedian), also known as Rob Newman * Robert Newman (impresario), manager of the Queen s Hall and founder of the Promenade Concerts * Robert… …   Wikipedia

  • Newman — This article is about the surname. For other uses, see Newman (disambiguation). The surname Newman may refer to many people: Contents: Top · 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z …   Wikipedia

  • Newman Baronets — There have been three Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Newman, one in the Baronetage of England and two in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Two of the creations are extant as of 2007. The Newman Baronetcy, of Fifehead… …   Wikipedia

  • Newman, Paul — born Jan. 26, 1925, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. U.S. film actor. He studied drama at Yale University and the Actors Studio and first appeared on Broadway in Picnic (1953). In 1954 he made his screen debut in the disastrous biblical epic The Silver… …   Universalium

  • Robert Edward Petre, 9th Baron Petre — (March 1742 Ingatestone Hall – 2 July 1801) was a British peer.Lord Petre was the son of Robert Petre, 8th Baron Petre (1713 1742), a reknown horticulturist, and Lady Henrietta Anna Mary Barbara Radclyffe (1714 1760), daughter of the 3rd Earl of… …   Wikipedia

  • Robert Redford — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Robert Redford Nombre real Charles Robert Redford Jr. Nacimiento 08 de agosto de 1936 (73 años) …   Wikipedia Español

  • Robert Newman (actor) — Robert Newman (June 27, 1958 in Los Angeles, California) is an American screen actor. Guiding Light Newman is best known for his role as Joshua Lewis on the American soap opera Guiding Light , a role he played from 1981 to 1984, and again from… …   Wikipedia

  • Robert Redford — in 2006 Born Charles Robert Redford, Jr. August 18, 1936 (1936 08 18) (age 75) Santa Monica, California, United …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”