Elsie Clews Parsons

Elsie Clews Parsons
Parsons aboard her schooner, the Malabar V.
Born
Elsie Worthington Clews

(1875-11-27)November 27, 1875
New York City
Died(1941-12-19)December 19, 1941
New York City
EducationPh.D. in Sociology, Columbia University (1899)
OccupationAnthropologist
SpouseHerbert Parsons
ChildrenElsie ("Lissa", 1901)
John Edward (1903)
Herbert (1909)
Henry McIlvaine ("Mac", 1911)[1]
Parent(s)Henry Clews, Lucy Madison Worthington
RelativesJames Blanchard Clews (cousin)

Elsie Worthington Clews Parsons (November 27, 1875 – December 19, 1941) was an American anthropologist, sociologist, folklorist, and feminist who studied Native American tribes—such as the Tewa and Hopi—in Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico. She helped found The New School.[2] She was associate editor for The Journal of American Folklore (1918–1941), president of the American Folklore Society (1919–1920), president of the American Ethnological Society (1923–1925), and was elected the first female president of the American Anthropological Association (1941) right before her death.[3][4][5]

She earned her bachelor's degree from Barnard College in 1896.[6] She received her master's degree (1897) and Ph.D. (1899) from Columbia University.[3]

Every other year, the American Ethnological Society awards the Elsie Clews Parsons Prize for the best graduate student essay, in her honor.[7][8]

  1. ^ "Behavioral Psychologist Henry McIlvaine Parsons, 92, Dies". The Washington Post. 2004-08-01.
  2. ^ Spier, Leslie, and A. L. Kroeber. "Elsie Clews Parsons"], American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 45, No. 2, Centenary of the American Ethnological Society (April–June 1943), pp. 244–255. JSTOR 663274.
  3. ^ a b Del Monte, Kathleen; Karen Bachman; Catherine Klein; Bridget McCourt (1999-03-19). "Elsie Clews Parsons". Celebration of Women Anthropologists. University of South Florida. Archived from the original on 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  4. ^ "Elsie Clews Parsons Papers". American Philosophical Society. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  5. ^ Gladys E. Reichard. "Elsie Clews Parsons". The Journal of American Folklore. Vol. 56, No. 219, Elsie Clews Parsons Memorial Number (January–March 1943), pp. 45–48.
  6. ^ Babcock, Barbara A.; Parezo, Nancy J. (1988). Daughters of the Desert: Women Anthropologists and the Native American Southwest, 1880–1980. University of New Mexico Press. pp. 15. ISBN 978-0-8263-1087-3.
  7. ^ "Elsie Clews Parsons Prize". AESonline.org. American Ethnological Society. 2012-02-01. Archived from the original on 2012-05-31. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  8. ^ "2007 Elsie Clews Parsons Prize for Best Graduate Student Paper". AESonline.org. American Ethnological Society. 2007-04-02. Archived from the original on 2007-06-25. Retrieved 2007-05-16.