Sahlins, Marshall, 1930-

Marshall Sahlins was born on December 27, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Michigan (M.A. 1952), and Columbia University (Ph.D. 1954).

Sahlins began his career at Columbia University, where he was a lecturer in anthropology from 1955 to 1957. In 1957, he moved to University of Michigan as assistant professor, and became professor of anthropology (1957-1974). In 1974, Sahlins joined the faculty at University of Chicago as professor of anthropology. He became Charles F. Grey Distinguished Service Professor in 1983.

Among Sahlins' many published works are: Social Stratification in Polynesia: A Study of Adaptive Variations in Culture (1958), Moala: Culture and Nature on a Fijian Island (1962), Stone Age Economics (1972), Culture and Practical Reason (1976), The Use and Abuse of Biology: An Anthropological Critique of Sociobiology (1976), Islands of History (1985), How Natives Think: About Captain Cook for Example (1995), and Culture in Practice: Selected Essays (2000).

Marshall Sahlins is currently Charles F. Grey Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and of Social Sciences at the University of Chicago.

From the guide to the Sahlins, Marshall. Papers, n.d., (Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.)