CLIFFORD GEERTZ August 23, 1926 – October 30, 2006
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THE I NSTITUTE L E T T E R INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY · WINTER 2007 THE INSTITUTE WOODS: PROTECTION AGAINST THE NOISE AND BUSTLE ore than seventy-five years ago, Founding Director Abraham Flexner sought to marched his troops Mcreate with the Institute for Advanced Study a haven where “scholars and scien- through the Institute tists may regard the world and its phenomena as their laboratory, without being carried Woods just prior off by the maelstrom.” To this end, Flexner wrote in a 1931 memorandum to the Board to engaging in the of Trustees that the future site of the Institute “should be large enough to be forever pro- Battle of Princeton tected against the noise and bustle of urban or commercial life.” in 1777—the perm- Today, the Institute Woods contain several markers that commemorate the dedica- anent easement pro- tion of those who have protected the mission of the Institute and its environment tects a fifty-six-mile- through the decades. In 1950, Institute Director (1947-66) J. Robert Oppenheimer ded- long greenway net- icated a Founders’ Walk, which included four miles of trails and paths, the building of work critical for the a suspension bridge, and a Founders’ Rock with a bronze plaque, inscribed: “Dedicated feeding and nesting of to Louis Bamberger and his sister Carrie B. F. Fuld whose vision and generosity made birds on the Atlantic this Institute for Advanced Study possible.” flyway. It also protects The preservation of the Institute Woods was celebrated by the Institute in 1997 with the a unique laboratory, dedication of four land markers that tell the history of the land, commemorate its conser- with more than forty- vation, and acknowledge the more than one thousand contributors involved in the preser- five species of trees, HENRY HORN vation project. Located behind the Thomas Clarke House at Princeton Battlefield State for studies of forest The Institute Woods Park, one marker pays special tribute to the late Trustee Frank E. Taplin, Jr. and his wife Peggy succession and what Taplin for their “foresight and generosity.” Another acknowledges the Institute’s Board Henry Horn, professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University of Trustees “for vision and support leading to the preservation of these important lands.” who has conducted extensive research in the Woods for more than thirty years, calls In addition to conserving an historic parcel of land—General George Washington “one of the most renowned natural areas in central New Jersey.” (Continued on page 7) CLIFFORD GEERTZ August 23, 1926 – October 30, 2006 lifford Geertz, an eminent scholar in the field “Clifford Geertz was one of the major intellectual figures of the twentieth century whose Cof cultural anthropology known for his exten- presence at the Institute played a crucial role in its development and in determining its sive research in Indonesia and Morocco, died on present shape,” said Director Peter Goddard. “He remained a vital force, contributing to October 30, 2006, at the age of 80. Dr. Geertz was the life of the Institute right up to his death. We have all lost a much loved friend.” Professor Emeritus in the School of Social Science Joan Wallach Scott, Harold F. Linder Professor in the School of Social Science at the at the Institute for Advanced Study, where he had Institute, commented, “Cliff was the founder of the School of Social Science and its con- served on the Faculty since 1970. Professor Geertz’s tinuing inspiration. His influence on generations of scholars was powerful and lasting. He appointment was significant not only for the dis- changed the direction of thinking in many fields by pointing to the importance and com- tinguished leadership it would bring to the Insti- plexity of culture and the need for its interpretation. We will miss his critical intelli- tute, but also because it marked the initiation of gence, his great sense of irony, and his friendship.” the School of Social Science, which in 1973 for- Professor Geertz’s deeply reflective and eloquent writings often provided profound and mally became the fourth School at the Institute. cogent insights on the scope of culture, the nature of anthropology, and on the under- Professor Geertz’s landmark contributions to standing of the social sciences in general. Noting that human beings are “symbolizing, social and cultural theory have been influential not conceptualizing, meaning-seeking animals,” Geertz acknowledged and explored the only among anthropologists, but also among geog- innate desire of humanity to “make sense out of experience, to give it form and order.” RANDALL HAGADORN raphers, ecologists, political scientists, humanists, In Works and Lives: The Anthropologist as Author (1988), Geertz stated, “The next neces- Clifford Geertz and historians. He worked on religion, especially sary thing ... is neither the construction of a universal Esperanto-like culture ... nor the Islam; on bazaar trade; on economic development; invention of some vast technology of human management. It is to enlarge the possibili- on traditional political structures; and on village and family life. A prolific author since ty of intelligible discourse between people quite different from one another in interest, the 1950s, Geertz’s many books include The Religion of Java (1960); Islam Observed: Reli- outlook, wealth, and power, and yet contained in a world where tumbled as they are into gious Development in Morocco and Indonesia (1968); The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected endless connection, it is increasingly difficult to get out of each other’s way.” Essays (1973, 2000); Negara: The Theatre State in Nineteenth Century Bali (1980); and The The Institute will host “Remembering Clifford Geertz,” an event celebrating the Politics of Culture, Asian Identities in a Splintered World (2002). At the time of his death, life and work of Professor Geertz, on March 3. The program will include Javanese Professor Geertz was working on the question of ethnic diversity and its implications in music performed by Gamelan Kusuma Laras under the direction of I. M. Harjito. the modern world. (Continued on page 5) NEWS OF THE INSTITUTE COMMUNITY NRICO BOMBIERI, IBM Von Neumann Professor tional, interdisciplinary social science. The Albert O. EJAN VINKOVIC´ , a current Visitor in the Ein the School of Mathematics, has won the 2006 Hirschman Prize, which carries an award of $10,000, DProgram in Interdisciplinary Studies and a former Premio Internazionale Pitagora, an international prize will be presented to a scholar who has made outstanding Member in the School of Natural Sciences (2003-06), for mathematics sponsored by the European Union and contributions to international, interdisciplinary social has coauthored with ALAN KIRMAN, a former Mem- administered by the city of Crotone in Southern Italy. science, research, theory, and public communication. ber in the School of Social Science (2005), the article q The recipient will deliver the annual Albert O. “A Physical Analogue of the Schelling Model,” which Hirschman Prize Lecture at a ceremony in New York. appeared in the December 19 issue of the Proceedings of onderful Blood: Theology and Practice in Late the National Academy of Sciences q (PNAS). In the study, WMedieval Northern Germany and Beyond by the team presents a mathematical link between CAROLINE WALKER BYNUM, Professor in the n annual series of distinguished lectures has been Schelling’s model and models used for solving the physical School of Historical Studies, was published by the Uni- A. established in honor of JOHN BAHCALL, the problem of surface tension force in liquids and solids. versity of Pennsylvania Press in December. late Richard Black Professor of Astrophysics in the q q School of Natural Sciences. The lectures will be held at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore and nlightenment Contested. Philosophy, Modernity, and the NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, EEmancipation of Man, 1670-1752 by JONATHAN Maryland. OF HISTORICAL NOTE ISRAEL, Professor in the School of Historical Studies, q was published by Oxford University Press in November. he following excerpt by Abraham Flexner, q rustee JAMES H. SIMONS, president of Renais- T Tsance Technologies Corp, has been named Finan- Founding Director of the UAN MALDACENA, Professor in the School of cial Engineer of the Year by the International Associa- Institute for Advanced JNatural Sciences, has been awarded the 2007 Dannie tion of Financial Engineers/SunGard. The award, estab- Study, was published in Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics by the Amer- lished in 1993, recognizes individual contributions to The New York Times on ican Institute of Physics and the American Physical the advancement of financial engineering technology. April 17, 1932: Society. The award, which recognizes outstanding pub- q lications in the field of mathematical physics, acknowl- Civilization’s edges Professor Maldacena’s “profound developments in ormer School of Social Science Member CHARLES Advance Mathematical Physics that have illuminated intercon- FBOSK (2003-04) was awarded the University of nections and launched major research areas in Quantum Pennsylvania’s Provost’s Award for Distinguished Ph.D. The world is not yet civilized. None the less Field Theory, String Theory and Gravity.” He shares the Teaching and Mentoring. it is a better world today than at any time in history. award with Joseph G. Polchinski, a professor of physics q For the moment, however, the question arises as to at the University of California, Santa Barbara. whether society is able to carry out and to carry on q OD S. CHAMBERS, former Member in the School the humane programs upon which it has embarked in Tof Social Science (2003-04), who was a participant education and in philanthropy. There are those RIC MASKIN, Albert O. Hirschman Professor in in the School’s thematic year focusing on bioethics, is whose hearts are weak and who cannot see the Ethe School of Social Science, gave the Kenneth president-elect of the American Society for Bioethics immediate present.