What do you think?
Rate this book
The Face of the Fox: With a New Introduction by Vernie Davis
In The Face of the Fox, an anthropological and sociological study of the Fox American Indians (the Mesquakie, their actual tribal name) who live just outside Tama, Iowa, Frederick Gearing puts a face on the peoples of this tribe. In doing so, Gearing particularly deals with the estrangement of the Fox Indians and the Westerners surrounding them. He defines the concept of estrangement as including feelings of contempt, indifference, and pity often leading to misplaced hurt and hate on both sides. Specifically, he states that when one is estranged, he is unable to relate because he cannot see enough to relate to, which is a type of social disconnect. Estrangement shackles both parties, leaving them unable to connect with one another. Finding this is more of a cognitive mental processing problem, Gearing proposes gaining control of the mind, believing the opposite of being estranged is to find a people believable and real. The way to do this is to educate each estranged group about the other and put a face on each group. Educating Westerners about the Fox people they live next to, Gearing describes their community, their social structure, their culture, their language and some of its many meanings, and their view of themselves and how they view their future. Attempting to end estrangement and engender endearment and understanding, The Face of the Fox will be of interest to anthropologists and sociologists focusing on the American Indian.
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 6, 2017
TLDR; Dated. Ineffective Methods.
The cover of my edition reads "A book about American Indians, White Men, the Cultural Traditions that separate them, and What can be done about their Estrangement".
The book was only nominally about the Fox tribe people. There was a small bit of description, but even the author professed that the methods used were inadequate. The research approach was "action anthropology", but again, the author professes that there was no real action.
The book is a little more about white men- what their views of the Fox were, how those views may have been formed and, much more generally, how white men (anthropologists) view foreign cultures.
There was almost no examination of the cultural traditions that either entity followed (the most salient was farming), nor were there any suggestions about what to do about the estrangement except for "get to know your neighbor".
The most effective part of this book was the examination of how young Fox men struggled with structural paralysis.
The study primarily took place in 1952-53, but the copyright on the book is 1970. I feel this time gap to be a great hindrance to the analysis, as it reads as vague memories of what the author remembers about his time among the Fox, rather than what may have been more poignant and timely observations.
The cover of my edition reads "A book about American Indians, White Men, the Cultural Traditions that separate them, and What can be done about their Estrangement".
The book was only nominally about the Fox tribe people. There was a small bit of description, but even the author professed that the methods used were inadequate. The research approach was "action anthropology", but again, the author professes that there was no real action.
The book is a little more about white men- what their views of the Fox were, how those views may have been formed and, much more generally, how white men (anthropologists) view foreign cultures.
There was almost no examination of the cultural traditions that either entity followed (the most salient was farming), nor were there any suggestions about what to do about the estrangement except for "get to know your neighbor".
The most effective part of this book was the examination of how young Fox men struggled with structural paralysis.
The study primarily took place in 1952-53, but the copyright on the book is 1970. I feel this time gap to be a great hindrance to the analysis, as it reads as vague memories of what the author remembers about his time among the Fox, rather than what may have been more poignant and timely observations.
Displaying 1 of 1 review