Peter Maurice Worsley (6 May 1924 – 15 March 2013) was a noted British sociologist and social anthropologist. He was a major figure in both anthropology and sociology, and is noted for introducing the term '' Third World'' into English. He not only made theoretical and ethnographic contributions, but also was regarded as a key founding member of the

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights, g ...

.Peel,JDY (2013) Peter Worsley obituary: Sociologist who did much to define the idea of a 'third world', ''The Guardian'', Thursday 28 March
(Accessed April 2013)Peter Worsley: A Life, interviewed by Alan Macfarlane
(Accessed April 2013)

Early life and education

Born in Birkenhead, Worsley started reading English at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

but his studies were interrupted by World War II. He served in the British Army as an officer in Africa and India. During this time he developed his interest in anthropology. After the war he worked on

mass education Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all people and is imposed by the government. This education may take place at a registered school or at other places. Compulsory school attendance or compulsory schooling ...

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

and then went to study under Max Gluckman at the University of Manchester. He received his PhD from the Australian National University in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Career

He lectured in sociology at the University of Hull and then went on to become the first Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester in 1964.

Awards

Winner of the Curl Bequest Prize (1955) of the

Royal Anthropological Institute The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...

for ''The kinship system of the

Tallensi Tallensi, also spelled Talensi, are a people of northern Ghana who speak a language of the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo language family. They grow millet and sorghum as staples and raise cattle, sheep, and goats on a small scale. Their normal do ...

: a revaluation'' (Published in JRAI 1956, pp. 37–75).

Key works

*. *. *. *. *. *. * Subsequent publications by Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London), 1984 & 1988. . * Subsequent publications 1998 & 1999. Alternative . * Subsequent publications Routledge 1989, 1990 ; 2002 .

References

* David Simon (ed) (2006) Fifty Key Thinkers in Development, Routledge *

Citations

External links

Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 25 February 1989 (video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Worsley, Peter Academics of the University of Hull
Academics of the University of Manchester Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Manchester British sociologists Development specialists British Army personnel of World War II 1924 births 2013 deaths Presidents of the British Sociological Association New Left