Forum introduction

Abstract

A B S T R A C TIn a professional career spanning over six decades, Sidney Mintz had an immense influence on anthropology, history, Caribbean studies, food studies, and the interdisciplinary study of commodity circuits across time and space. In his work, Mintz developed a historical and a Marxist/materialist approach that also bore the mark of his training in US cultural anthropology. The articles in this AE Forum explain Mintz's place in the history of anthropology and suggest influences in the formation of his thought. They also show how Mintz's legacy consists of providing models that inspire future ethnographic and historical investigations. [Sidney Mintz, anthropology, Marxism, history of anthropology, historical approaches to anthropology, Caribbean] En una carrera profesional que abarcó seis décadas, Sidney Mintz (1922-2015) ejerció una influencia enorme sobre la antropología, la historia, los estudios caribeños, la ciencia del alimento y el estudio interdisciplinar de la circulación de las mercancías a través del tiempo y del espacio. En su obra, Mintz tuvo un enfoque histórico y marxista/materialista que refleja al mismo tiempo su formación en la antropología estadounidense. Los artículos de este fórum AE explican la posición de Mintz en la historia de la antropología y sugieren influencias sobre el desarrollo de su pensamiento. Muestran también cómo el legado de Mintz fue proporcionar modelos de inspiración para futuras investigaciones etnográficas e históricas. [Sidney W. Mintz, antropología, marxismo, historia de la antropología, abordos históricos a la antropología, Caribe]

Keywords and key words in AE

“…For 2017, the results are clearly influenced by the two forums published in AE that year: “Sidney Mintz and His Legacy,” edited by associate editor Kevin Yelvington (), and “Brexit, Trump, and Anthropology,” edited by associate editor Jeanette Edwards, with Angelique Haugerud and Shanti Parikh (Edwards, Haugerud, and Parikh ). The latter forum in particular produced several dominant words, including Brexit (used six times as a keyword and six in titles), Trump (used four times as a keyword and four times in titles), United States (used six times as a keyword in this forum, of a total of eight in this year), and United Kingdom (used three times as a keyword), as well as class (used five times as a keyword and in one article title in the forum, of a total of seven), race (used four times as a keyword in the forum, of a total of five), and nation and nationalism (used twice in titles and twice as a keyword in the forum, of a total of 10).…”

Sidney W Mintz: Charting an anthropology of the Caribbean

“…Mintz could be patient and self-effacing in responding to criticisms but also blunt and direct – and sometimes both in the same reply – but also quite scathing and dismissive as in his and Wolf’s reply to Michael Taussig in this journal (Mintz and Wolf, 1989; Taussig, 1989). Besides appraisals of The People of Puerto Rico project there are special journal issues such as the symposium on Sweetness and Power in Food and Foodways (1987) and those devoted to aspects of Mintz’s contributions (Bentley, 2008; Giusti-Cordero, 2014–2015a; Review , 2011; Yelvington, 2017), an edited book on his influence (Baca et al., 2009), and detailed portraits of his intellectual development and production (Baca, 2016; Giusti-Cordero, 2014–2015b, 2016; Palmié, 2016; Scott, 2004).…”