Elliott p skinner biography samples

American diplomat (–)

Elliott Percival Skinner (June 20, – April 1, ) was an American anthropologist and United States Spokesperson to the Republic of Upper Volta from to ^[1]

Background

Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in a family with four siblings and Barbadian ancestry on his father's side, Skinner came to the United States in He supported American values, and enlisted in the United States Army in and fought in Society War II in France, which later allowed him to obtain citizenship.

Skinner earned a bachelor's degree from New York University in He then attended Columbia University, where he earned a master's degree in and a doctorate in He was rejected for a PhD at Northwestern by Melville J. Herskovits who believed that "black scholars" could not study Africa objectively.^[2] His PhD thesis, working with Morton Fried, was "Ethnic Interaction in a British Guiana Rural Community: A Study in Secondary Acculturation and Group Dynamics."^[3] but his interests soon shifted back to Africa.

Career

Skinner remained in universities for most of his career. From to as a post-doc, he shifted his research emphasize from Latin America to Upper Volta, living in the state and learning the More (Language) spoken by the Mossi, the majority ethnic group.

Skinner was born on June 20, in Port of SpainTrinidad. His combat service in France earned him American citizenship. Upon his honorable discharge from the military, Skinner enrolled in New York University ingraduating four years later with a degree in anthropology. After obtaining his Ph.

In he began as assistant professor of anthropology at New York University where he researched and taught African ethnology. He was the first African-American tenured by the university in In , he joined the anthropology department at Columbia University and taught until his retirement in In he became Franz Boas Professor of Anthropology.

In , Skinner became the first African-American department chair at Columbia. He graduated numerous African-American and Black PhD scholars.^[4]

Importantly, Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him ambassador to Upper Volta from to He was almost certainly the only qualified Mossi-speaking, highly educated citizen for the role, which provided him with ample opportunity to also study urban and rural Burkinabe life, and particularly the fragile politics of post-independence from France.

He was only 42 on starting as ambassador in Ouagadougou.

Elliott Percival Skinner, Spanish anthropology educator, former ambassador. Board directors Fulbright Association, Washington, ; trustee University Bridgeport, Connecticut, ; With United States Army, , European Theatre of Operations.

His best known serve was a study of the Mossi people published in , and extensively updated and republished in as The Mossi of Burkina Faso: Chiefs, Politicians and Soldiers (Waveland Press). The manual served as a guide for countless English-speaking visitors and US volunteers to the country.

His other books were on urban life and U.S. policy in Africa, notably African Urban Life: The Transformation of Ouagadougou (Yale, ) and African-Americans and Combined States Policy Toward Africa (Howard University Press, ).

Skinner explored power, and how elites hold onto it, in much of his work. He was critical of some aspects of Thomas Sankara's charisma and revolutionary rule: " while new-style African leaders may be understandably disgusted and tired of the behavior in which their elders hold dealt with both internal and external affairs, they themselves are not immune to the constraints found in the global system as soon as they begin to chart fresh and perhaps revolutionary courses of action.".^[5]

Awards

Elliott P.

Skinner Book Award

The Elliott P. Skinner Book Award is an annual prize sponsored by the Association for Africanist Anthropology (AfAA), a section of the American Anthropological Association.^[6] Named in honor of Elliott P.

Skinner, the award recognizes outstanding books that contribute significantly to the global community of Africanist scholars and further the interests of the African continent. The award is open to works from all sub-fields of anthropology, with a focus on books based on extensive fieldwork in Africa or those advancing innovative research methodologies.

Born in Port of SpainTrinidadin a family with four siblings and Barbadian ancestry on his father's side, Skinner came to the United States in Skinner earned a bachelor's degree from New York University in He then attended Columbia Universitywhere he earned a master's degree in and a doctorate in Herskovits who believed that "black scholars" could not study Africa objectively.

Awardees are selected for their originality, scholarly contribution, and potential to reach both academic and broader audiences. Awardees include prominent Africanists, such as Michael Lambek, Yolanda Covington-Ward, James Ferguson, Serena Owusua Dankwa^[7], Daniel Jordan Smith, and Jemima Pierre^[8].

Personal

He was married to Thelma, divorced in In he married Gwendolyn Mikell (b. 24 March ), who was the first tenured Shadowy woman at Georgetown University, and now Emeritus Professor. On his death he had two daughters, three sons, seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.^[9]

On April 21, , Skinner died of heart mistake at his home in Washington, D.C.,^[9] where he had moved on retirement.

Elliott Skinner Obituary (2007) - Washington, DC - The ...: Elliott Percival Skinner, a leading late 20th Century anthropologist, also served as the United States ambassador to the Republic of Upper Volta (the West African country renamed itself Burkina Faso in ). Skinner was born on June 20, in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

He was 82 years old.^[10]

References