The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall | In Conversation with Andrew Garrett

'The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall'
In conversation with Andrew Garrett

Professor Andrew Garrett | University of California, Berkley

Thursday, May 29 | 5:45pm doors for a 6pm start

In January 2021, at a time when many institutions were reevaluating fraught histories, the University of California removed anthropologist and linguist Alfred Kroeber's name from a building on its Berkeley campus. Critics accused him of racist and dehumanizing practices that harmed Indigenous people; university leaders repudiated his values. In 'The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall', Andrew Garrett examines Kroeber's work in the early twentieth century and his legacy today, asking how a vigorous opponent of racism and advocate for Indigenous rights in his own era became a symbol of his university's failed relationships with Native communities. Garrett argues that Kroeber's most important work has been overlooked: his collaborations with Indigenous people throughout California to record their languages and stories. This work was broad, collaborative, and multifaceted; the records it has left behind are relevant throughout California today as communities revive languages, names, songs, and stories.

Join us for a fire-side chat with Andrew Garrett followed by refreshments in the Gleebooks cafe.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Andrew Garrett is the Nadine M. Tang and Bruce L. Smith Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Director of the California Language Archive at the University of California, Berkeley. He has worked extensively with early Indo-European languages and with Indigenous languages of California. Since 2001, he has collaborated with the Yurok Tribe on the documentation and revitalization of the Yurok language.

Chair bio: 
Nick Enfield is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sydney. His book What is truth for? will be published later this year 

Endorsements for the book:
"A masterpiece of grace, balance, and honesty in research" – Times Literary Supplement

"The best work I know that explores the contradictions and unintended outcomes of what was long called 'salvage' anthropology and linguistics" -- James Clifford, European Journal of Sociology

"A fair-minded yet passionate assessment of the controversy over one of early American anthropology’s most prominent figures" -- Orin Starn, author of Ishi’s Brain: In Search of America’s Last “Wild” Indian

Image: The MIT Press