Bronislaw Malinowski was a polish-born anthropologists, who became famous due to his scholarly achievements and especially thanks to his discovery of the theory of functionalism. According to this theory, the culture has a role to play due to its capacity to satisfy biological needs of humans. Malinowski also developed a technique of a field work, which is denominated as participant-observation (Ericson, et al., 2013).
His diaries are fascinating texts that are sometime increasingly visceral and powerful testimonies of a man, who proposed and defined a protocol of a scientific nature for methods of observation of human research targets. Malinowski is confessional in his diaries, meaning that he provides personal insights into the process of thinking which later on is transferred onto a scientific level and which uses different language and different tools to describe the surrounding reality. Not only does he doubt his methods and the acquired results, he is also uncertain of the theories he proposes. Although he is an important harbinger of new ways of research, he self-questions his own conclusions to the point that the reader sometimes starts losing belief in the robustness of his convictions. He not only questions himself but also fellow scientists such as Margaret Mead or Marvin Harris. Precisely Marvin Harris becomes an object of his analysis as Bronislaw Malinowski tries to mix observation with participation contrasting with cultural materialism of Marvin Harris.
Especially the recording of Kula Events, which were witnessed by Malinowski, on the first expedition, which was followed by a second one and by a third one, are and incredibly attractive narrative which convinces the reader on the capacity of Malinowski to perceive the world in a dramatic and antagonistics way, which however may be precisely the reason for the success of his theories in the latter part of his life.
- Erickson, P., Murphy, L.D. Readings for A History of Anthropological Theory. University of Toronto Press, 2013.
