Joanna Overing (born August 12, 1938 in Takoma Park, Maryland) is an American anthropologist based in Scotland. She has conducted research on

egalitarianism Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...

, indigenous cosmology, philosophical anthropology, aesthetics, the ludic and

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

through fieldwork in

Amazonia The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

. She has extensively studied indigenous

Piaroa people The Piaroa people, known among themselves as the ''Huottüja'' or ''De'aruhua'', are a pre-Columbian South American indigenous ethnic group of the middle Orinoco Basin in present-day Colombia and Venezuela, living in an area larger than Belgium, ...

in the

Orinoco basin The Orinoco Basin is the part of South America drained by the Orinoco river and its tributaries. The Orinoco watershed covers an area of about 990000 km2, making it the third largest in South America, covering most of Venezuela and eastern p ...

of Venezuela.

Academic career

Overing completed her B.A. at Duke University and the University of Connecticut in History, followed by her M.A. in History from the University of Connecticut. She completed her Ph.D. in Anthropology at Brandeis University. She is Professor Emeritus at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in the Department of Social Anthropology, and a Researcher within the Centre for Amerindian, Latin American and Caribbean Studies. She has previously held posts as Professor and Chair in Social Anthropology at the Department of Social Anthropology, University of St Andrews and Director of Centre of Indigenous American Studies and Exchange (CIASE), as well as teaching positions at Vanderbilt University and the London School of Economics.

Influence in Anthropology

One of Overing's central interests in Amazonianist anthropology is the relationship between egalitarianism and individualism in Amerindian societies. Anthropologist Harry Walker has written that Overing 'pioneered the study of what she termed the “art of living” or the “aesthetics of everyday life,” showing how the Western distinction between ethics and aesthetics is irrelevant in a world where people strive for beauty in their social relations with others.'

Selected publication

Books

* Overing Kaplan, Joanna (1975). ''The Piaroa; a people of the Orinoco Basic: A study of kinship and marriage.'' Oxford: Clarendon Press. * Overing, Joanna, ed (1985). ''ASA Monographs: Vol. 24.'' ''Reason and Morality''. London, New York: Tavistock Publications. * Overing, Joanna and Nigel Rapport (2000). ''Social and Cultural Anthropology: The Key Concepts''. London, New York: Routledge. * Overing, Joanna and Alan Passes, eds (2000). ''The Anthropology of Love and Anger: The Aesthetics of Conviviality in Native Amazonia.'' London: Routledge. ()

Articles and Chapters

* Overing Kaplan, Joanna (1973). 'Endogamy and the Marriage Alliance: A Note on Continuity in Kindred-Based Groups' in ''Man'' 8:4, 555-570. * Overing Kaplan, Joanna (1981). 'Review: "Amazonian Anthropology"' in ''Journal of Latin American Studies'', 13:1, 151-165. * Overing, Joanna (1989). 'Personal Autonomy and the Domestication of Self in Piaroa Society' in ''Acquiring Culture: Cross Cultural Studies in Child Development'', 169-192. London: Croom Helm. * Overing, Joanna (1990). 'The Shaman as a Maker of Worlds: Nelson Goodman in the Amazon' in ''Man'' 25: 4, 602-619. * Overing, Joanna (1997). 'The Role of Myth: An Anthropological Perspective', in G. Hosking and G. Schopflin (eds), ''Myths and Nationhood'', Routledge, London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Overing, Joanna 1938 births Living people American women anthropologists Social anthropologists 21st-century American women