Oscar Lewis
Oscar Lewis ( born December 25, 1914 in New York City as Oscar Lefkowitz, † 16 December 1970 New York City ) was an American anthropologist / ethnologist and student of Ruth Benedict. He developed the concept of the culture of poverty.
Life
Lewis received his Ph.D. in 1940 at Columbia University. He worked at Brooklyn College, at the University of Washington, at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, whose anthropological faculty he co-founded in 1948, and at Yale University, both in cultural and anthropological contexts. In 1943, he worked as a representative of the Inter- American Indian Institute in Mexico, which had a great influence on his work.
The focus of his field research were descriptive ethnographic studies of the poorest strata of the population, particularly in Mexico, and he also conducted research in Puerto Rico, Cuba and India. Based on the theories of Lewis the Oportunidades program was launched in Mexico.
1968 Lewis was invited by the Cuban government, a study on the social changes brought about by the revolution in the population to carry out the operation of which should be the children of Sánchez inspired by his highly acclaimed work. The example given of Lewis research team worked in 1969 and 1970 to the Cuban government, the project in June 1970 with the accusation that Lewis was an agent of the CIA, forced to abort, an important part of the collected data confiscated and a Cuban employee of the study detained. Lewis died a few months later, without that he still had the present results can scientifically exploit. It was not until several years after his death, resulting from the work in Cuba Reports Four Men, Four Women and Neighbors appeared.
Works
- Five Families; Mexican Case Studies In The Culture Of Poverty, 1959.
- Tepoztlán, Village in Mexico, 1960.
- Pedro Martinez: Self-portrait e Mexicans, Dusseldorf; Vienna: Econ -Verl, 1965.
- The Children of Sanchez, Autobiography Of A Mexican Family, 1961, dt The children of Sánchez: self- portrait of a Mexican family, 4th Edition, Göttingen: Lamuv -Verl, 1989.
- La Vida; A Puerto Rican Family In The Culture Of Poverty - San Juan And New York, 1966, dt La Vida: a Puerto Rican family in the culture of poverty: San Juan & New York, Dusseldorf [ ua]: Econ -Verl, 1971.
- A Death In The Family Sánchez, 1969, dt A death in the Sánchez family, Göttingen: Lamuv - Verl, 1986, ISBN 978-3-88977-048-6.
- Ruth M. Lewis, and Susan M. Rigdon: Four Men: Living the Revolution: An Oral History of Contemporary Cuba, Urbana, Ill.: Univ. of Illinois Pr, 1977, ISBN 978-0-25200-628-9
- Ruth M. Lewis, and Susan M. Rigdon: Four Women: Living the Revolution: An Oral History of Contemporary Cuba, Urbana, Ill.: Univ. of Illinois Pr, 1977, ISBN 978-0-25200-805-4
- Ruth M. Lewis, and Susan M. Rigdon: Neighbors: Living the Revolution: An Oral History of Contemporary Cuba, Urbana, Ill.: Univ. of Illinois Pr, 1978, ISBN 978-0-25200-641-8