The History of Anthropology Newsletter was founded in 1973 by George Stocking, Robert Bieder, Robert Berkhofer, Regna Darnell, Dell Hymes, Judith Modell, and Timothy Thoresen. For its first 31 years, Stocking took on the majority of editorial responsibility for the publication. In 2004, this role was taken over by Henrika Kuklick.
In their research, teaching, and institutional work, Stocking and Kuklick played central roles in forging and developing the field of history of anthropology and served as mentors and inspiration for multiple generations of scholars. The History of Anthropology Newsletter was one of many ways in which they fostered dialogue, collaboration, and a shared sense of purpose among those involved in the history of the social sciences.
Sadly, both died in 2013. The relaunch of HAN in 2016 as a website aims to preserve and extend their legacy, by making all earlier issues of the newsletter available online, and by continuing to make it a site for reporting, sharing, and discussing central issues, research tools, methods, and debates in the history of anthropology.
The links below connect to obituary notices and scholarly appreciations of the work of George W. Stocking, Jr. and Henrika Kuklick. Based in Riki’s former office in the University of Pennsylvania, under the editorship of one of George’s undergraduate advisees, the online relaunch of HAN is dedicated to their memory and to continuing their work.
Notices of the life and work of George Stocking:
Paul Vitello, “G. W. Stocking, 84; Studied Anthropologists,” New York Times, July 29, 2013.
“George W. Stocking Jr., Historian of Social Anthropology, 1928–2013,” University of Chicago, July 30, 2013.
Peter D’Errico, “The Man Who Forced Anthropologists to Respect Native Cultures,” Indian Country Today, August 12, 2013.
Notices of the life and work of Henrika Kuklick:
Bonnie L. Cook, “Henrika ‘Riki’ Kuklick, Penn Professor,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 15, 2013.
James H. Capshew and Leila Zenderland, “In Memoriam: Henrika Kuklick (1942–2013),” Newsletter of the History of Science Society, July 2014.
Sarah Tracy, “Henrika ‘Riki’ Kuklick, 1942–2013,” Isis 105 (2014): 815–818.
