Margaret Lucy Park Redfield (December 6, 1898 – February 6, 1977) was an American anthropologist and editor, who worked in Mexico's Yucatán region, and on projects about rural China.

Early life and education

Margaret Park was born in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

and raised in

Wollaston, Massachusetts Wollaston, Massachusetts, is a neighborhood in the city of Quincy, Massachusetts. Divided by Hancock Street or Route 3A, the Wollaston Beach side is known as Wollaston Park, while the Wollaston Hill side is known as Wollaston Heights. It is b ...

, the daughter of

Robert E. Park Robert Ezra Park (February 14, 1864 – February 7, 1944) was an American urban sociologist who is considered to be one of the most influential figures in early U.S. sociology. Park was a pioneer in the field of sociology, changing it from a pas ...

and

Clara Cahill Park Clara Cahill Park (July 2, 1868 – October 28, 1951) was an American social worker, artist, feminist, and writer. Early life and education Clara Belle Cahill was born in Michigan, the daughter of Edward Cahill and Lucy Crawford Cahill. Her f ...

. Her father was a sociology professor at the University of Chicago and

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

, and assistant to

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

at Tuskegee Institute; her mother was an artist, clubwoman, and social worker. She studied at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

for one year, then completed her undergraduate education at the University of Chicago, completing a bachelor's degree in anthropology in 1920.

Career

Redfield collaborated with her husband Robert Redfield in his work in Mexico and Guatemala, and did some ethnographic projects independently. She assisted him and other anthropologists, most notably Fei Xiaotong, in publishing their work. She also wrote reviews for ''

American Journal of Sociology The ''American Journal of Sociology'' is a peer-reviewed bi-monthly academic journal that publishes original research and book reviews in the field of sociology and related social sciences. It was founded in 1895 as the first journal in its disci ...

''. After her husband's death, she compiled two collections of his scholarship.

Publications

* "Notes on the Cookery of Tepoztlan, Morelos" (1929) * "The folk literature of a Yucatecan town" (1935) * "Disease and Its Treatment in Dzitas, Yucatan" (1940, with Robert Redfield) * Fei Xiaotong, ''Earthbound China: A Study of Rural Economy in Yunnan'' (1945, edited by Margaret Park Redfield) * "The American Family: Consensus and Freedom" (1946) * Fei Xiaotong, ''China's Gentry: Essays in Rural-Urban Relations'' (1953, edited by Margaret Park Redfield) * ''Papers of Robert Redfield: Human Nature and the Study of Society'' (1962, compiled by Margaret Park Redfield) * ''Papers of Robert Redfield:'' ''The Social Uses of Social Science'' (1963, compiled by Margaret Park Redfield)

Personal life and legacy

Park married fellow anthropologist Robert Redfield in 1920. They had four children, among them Lisa Peattie, Joanna, and James. One son, Robert III or "Tito", died in a tobogganing accident as a boy. Her husband died in 1958, and she died in 1977, in Chicago, at the age of 78. There is a collection of her papers at the University of Chicago Library.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Redfield, Margaret Park 1898 births 1977 deaths People from Lansing, Michigan University of Chicago alumni 20th-century American anthropologists