Professor Andrew Jamieson Strathern (1939-2026) a scholar and a courageous, gentle human.  His devoted wife, Dr. Pamela J. Stewart (Strathern), was by his side when he started this new journey — one step at a time.

Recognized to be one of the most prominent early researchers in Papua New Guinea.  He learnt several local languages, Melpa, Wiru, Duna and used these in his research.  He was the only Cambridge University researcher to have achieved this level of linguistic expertise in Papua New Guinea.  He continuously worked in Papua New Guinea from 1964 to 1986, living there for long stretches of time.  From 1986 onward numerous return trips have also been made.  He graduated from Cambridge University with his Bachelor’s degree (B.A. with first class honors in Classics and Social Anthropology) in 1962, his M.A. 1965 and in 1966 his PhD., entitled ‘Ceremonial Exchange in the Mount Hagen Area’.

Professor Andrew Strathern was the winner of the 1968 Curl Bequest Prize from the Royal Anthropological Institute for his influential essay ‘Descent and Alliance in the New Guinea Highlands’, He won a highly prestigious Title A Research Fellowship to Trinity College Cambridge for the years 1965-1969, for his 1965 Fellowship Thesis ‘Descent and Group Structure among the Mbowamb’.  He loved life and learning.  He helped many people in this life and will be remembered for his kindness to students, colleagues, and people around the world that he helped. 

He made keynote speeches in many countries and worked with many graduate students to advance their research.

—–

-1988-2026, Distinguished Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh

-1996-1999, Director, Pacific Studies Institute, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.

-1987-1988, Andrew W. Mellon visiting Professor of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh

-1986, Visting Researcher, Human Ethology, Andechs, Germany

-1981-1986, Director, Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies, Port Moresby.  

-1983-present, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, University of London (life appointment).

-1976-1983, Professor of Anthropology and Head of Department, University College London.

-1973-1976, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Papua New Guinea.  Visiting Professor, July – December 1977.

-1969-1973, Research Fellow, later Fellow, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra.

-1965-1969, Research Fellow (Title A), Trinity College, Cambridge (this was a Prize Fellowship based on a dissertation, the only one in Anthropology since A.R. Radcliffe-Brown in the early 1900s)

Service in PNG (Papua New Guinea): while at the University of Papua New Guinea and the Institute of PNG studies – He ran the Publication Series ORAL History which worked closely with Papua New Guineans to provide a forum for their intellectual output in the transitional years before and after Independence of the country.  Also, He worked with many Papua New Guineans who later became the first political leaders in the country and also with other Pacific Islanders from other Pacific Island countries in the region who became leaders in their countries.  Later Dr. Pamela J. Stewart (Strathern) and he continued to work with these leaders on projects dealing with heritage, development, and social issues.

 In 1976 he received the Rivers Memorial Award for fieldwork, from the Royal Anthropological Institute, and in 1987 he was presented with the Papua New Guinea 10th Anniversary of Independence medal from the Papua New Guinea government for services to the nation. 

While working in Papua New Guinea Prof. Andrew Strathern also served as a board member of the Institute of Medical Research in Goroka, Papua New Guinea; a board member of IASER (Institute for Applied Social and Economic Research) in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; and as a consultant for the Law Reform Commission in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.  

Linguistically he was accomplished in Latin and Greek, Scots, French, and German. A bibliophile, poet, lover of wildflowers, and walks in the country.   

Field Research Areas Include the following, on which Strathern and his collaborator, Dr. P. J. Stewart (Strathern), published various articles and books. See https://sites.pitt.edu/~strather/sandspublicat.htm for a list of some of these.

 –The Pacific (with much work in Papua New Guinea), on the topics of History; Social Change; Ritual, Medical Anthropology; Nation and State; Music, Songs, and Dance; Violence and Conflict, also working with Melanesian and Pacific art collections over the years.

-ASIA (Taiwan, Mainland China, Japan, Korea), Temple Rituals; Mazu Complex; Austronesian Populations (esp. Paiwan), Healing practices, Disaster Studies, Ritual Innovation, Politics of Indigeneity, Minority groups. 

–New Zealand, Scottish Diaspora, Pacific Islander Diaspora, and Farming Families 

–Europe (primarily Scotland, Ireland and the European Union), Senses of Identity, Scottish Diaspora, Conflict, Nation and State, Farming, European Union, Scots language and literature, esp. vernacular poetry. Euro Crisis and Peace-making.

–In General, Transnationalism, the Nation/State, Gender Studies, Violence, Terror, the Imagination, Medical Anthropology, Religious and Ritual Practices, The Anthropology of Religion, The Anthropology of Disasters, Peace-making and the Imagination Project, Precarity and its time depth, Identities and their uses, Migration and Movements (historical and contemporary), Refugees and national politics, asylum issues, resilience, capacity of health systems to sustain levels of health care services.

-Strathern and Stewart published 50+ books, over 200+ articles and chapters in books and over 75 Prefaces and Introductions to authors’ books. 

–In addition to Joint publications, Prof. Andrew J. Strathern has 

Over 15 scholarly books published from 1971-1996, 

Including: 

The Rope of Moka (1971, Cambridge University Press), Re-issued with a New Preface by

Strathern and Stewart in 2007;

One father, one blood: descent and group-structure among the Melpa people (1972, Australian

National University Press);

Ongka: A Self-Account by a New Guinea Big Man (1979).  London: Duckworth, Re-issued and updated in 1999 as [Strathern A. and Pamela J. Stewart (1999) Collaborations and Conflicts;

A Leader Through Time. Fort Worth Texas: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. (ISBN 0-15502147-8.)]

Inequality in Highlands New Guinea (A. Strathern, ed., 1982, Cambridge University Press), Re-issued with a New Preface by Strathern and Stewart in 2008;

A Line of Power (1984, Tavistock Publications);

Landmarks: Reflections on Anthropology (1993, The Kent State University Press);

Body Thoughts (1996, University of Michigan Press);

 and over 125 articles and book chapters in scholarly venues, plus reviews of manuscripts (e.g. Man, JRAI, Oceania, Bijdragen, American Anthropologist, American Ethnologist, Anthropology Quarterly, Anthropological Forum, Genealogy, Space and Culture, Journal of Religion and Violence, Asia-Pacific journal, Journal of Anthropological Research and (others) and many, many book reviews (150+)

Visiting positions (AJS)

-1978, 1992, 1995 Visiting Professor, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences

        Sociales, Paris, France.

-1979 Visiting Lecturer, Universities of Aarhus and Copenhagen, Denmark

-1979 Munro Lecturer, University of St. Andrews

-1985 Visiting Researcher, Research Unit in Human Ethology, Andechs, Germany 

-1994 Guest Professor, Ethnologisches Seminar, Basel University, Switzerland

-1994 Visiting Professor, University of Gottingen, Germany

-More recent, since 1996, visiting positions have been in Australia, Scotland, Taiwan, New Zealand, The Netherlands, and Germany.

Ethnographic film work (AJS)

He served as the anthropological consultant on many films, including:

-The Family of Man (Producer John Percival)

-Voices of the Forest (David Parer)

-Ongka’s Big Moka (Charlie Nairn)[World Famous]

-First Contact (Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson)

-A Death To Pay For (Charlie Nairn)

-Bride-wealth for a Goddess (Chris Owen)

-All these films dealt with themes from Papua New Guinea society since the 1960s and have become classics in their field.

EDITORIAL WORK:

Journal of Ritual Studies that Strathern and Stewart Co-Edited

The interdisciplinary public includes scholars from anthropology, religious studies, sociology, psychology, performance studies, ancient, medieval, early modern and contemporary history, area studies, philosophy, art, literature, dance, and music.

The Journal provides a forum for debate about ritual’s role and meaning and seeks better definition for this rapidly growing field and publishing articles about ritual in its various forms and contexts.

Book Series that Strathern and Stewart Jointly Edited

Series Editors for the following monographs;:

Ethnographic Studies in Medical Anthropology Series (Pamela J. Stewart and Andrew Strathern, Co-Editors, Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press)

Ritual Studies Monograph Series (Pamela J. Stewart and Andrew Strathern, Co-Editors, Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press)

European Anthropology Series

Anthropology and Cultural History in Asia and the Indo-Pacific (Pamela J. Stewart and Andrew Strathern, London and New York: Ashgate Publishing)

The Palgave Disaster Studies Series

For many years Andrew Strathern served as General Editor for the Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania book Series with the University of Pittsburgh Press. 

ARCHIVE

In progress, still working to sort and prepare materials to archive in the U. of Pitt library and in various specialty archives.  Many materials are unique and are resources for now and the future.  

Many of the language materials are significant because of the rapid loss of languages in Papua New Guinea owing to the influence of English.

Prof. Andrew J. Strathern took many notes on language and events throughout the areas in which he worked, and these will be rich sources of information as time goes on.