Preface  ix

Abbreviations  xxi

1. American Anthropology and the War to End All Wars  1

2. Professional Associations and the Scope of American Anthropology's Wartime Applications  18

3. Allied and Axis Anthropologies  53

4. The War on Campus  74

5. American Anthropologists Join the Wartime Brain Trust  91

6. Anthropologists and White House War Projects  117

7. Internment Fieldwork: Anthropologists and the War Relocation Authority  143

8. Anthropology and Nihonjinron at the Office of War Information  171

9. Archaeology and J. Edgar Hoover's Special Intelligence Service  200

10. Culture at War: Weaponizing Anthropology at the OSS  220

11. Postwar Ambiguities: Looking Back at the War  262

Notes  283

Bibliography  317

Index  353

“David Price, in Anthropological intelligence, has crafted a historical anthropology that is immensely relevant to current debates over disciplinary roles and obligations in wartime. Indeed, as an American anthropologist, I have been looking for this book for my entire professional life. It lays out in painstaking detail the complicated agendas, actions, and ramifications of engagement by anthropologists about whose work I had heard whispers and rumors, yet. . .I had never managed to track down the full story.”—Barbara Rose Johnston, Journal of Anthropological Research

“Anthropological Intelligence is written with vigor. Its author, David Price, is the foremost authority on the way anthropology was transformed by the Cold War and World War II. . . . There are no heroes or villains in this detailed study and this is a testament to Price’s scholarship, careful documentation, and command of the subject matter.”—William J. Peace, Comparative Studies in Society and History

“David Price’s revealing history of anthropological collaboration with government and military authorities during World War II, an earlier and better appreciated conflict, provides important background understanding about what happens when anthropologists go to war.”—Lamont Lindstrom, Pacific Affairs

“Price has written an important account of the flawed and problematical role of anthropologists during a time of national crisis. . . . Price has done anthropology and those concerned about the machinations of government officials a great service in making such information available in such readable, engrossing form. In these present, precarious times the lessons to be learned from this book are especially apt.”
—T.O. Beidelman, Ethnos

“This very well-written volume by David Price is one of the best and most important analyses of the relations between anthropology and wider public issues that I have read during the past decade.”—Eyal Ben-Ari, Social Anthropology

“This well-researched book is the most comprehensive account to date on the
interrelation of the work of anthropologists with American government policies and practices during World War II.—Margaret Caffrey, Diplomatic History

“Price has been a determined – if sometimes lonely – voice highlighting the risks of anthropological collaboration, both covert and overt, with military and intelligence agencies. . . . One of the strengths of this compendious and diverse book is its careful retelling and rendition of archival sources.”—David Mills, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute

“David Price makes a major contribution to our understanding of the political history of the field, detailing the multifaceted involvement of anthropologists in World War II, as well as the remaking of anthropological objects and techniques through an engagement with military interests. . . . Written with a sense of urgency, Anthropological Intelligence could well be taught in ethnographic methods courses to engage the larger politics of academic production under conditions of militarization but should be widely read by anyone interested in the militarization of knowledge. Price’s work challenges all of us involved in academic work to engage the larger political contexts of our professional lives and to grapple directly with the uses, and potential misuses, of ethnographic work.”—Joseph Masco, Political and Legal Anthropological Review

“The larger question this study raises is whether anthropology can be ethically applied in the service of any powerful organization, military or otherwise. If the answer—as Price implies—is no, then what is anthropological knowledge good for? For a discipline striving to refashion itself as relevant for solving practical problems, and not just for creating
humanistic understanding or advocating for the interests of marginalized communities, this question is a challenging one indeed.”—Ira Bashkow, American Ethnologist

“Price has done a masterful job of weaving a complex tapestry of American wartime anthropology. . . . Price's work reveals that even in a ‘good war”’like WWII, anthropologists often stood on ethically shaky ground when working for military and intelligence agencies, and some of them came to regret the long-term consequences of their participation. . . . Anthropological Intelligence could not have come at a more critical time as the Pentagon, the CIA, and countless private contract firms (such as BAE Systems and NEK Advanced Securities) aggressively seek to recruit social scientists for positions ranging from ‘Intelligence Analyst’ to ‘Field Anthropologist’ on experimental counterinsurgency teams. Price's work gives us fair warning of the pitfalls that are likely to accompany such collaborations.”—Roberto J. González, Anthropological Quarterly

“In patiently scrutinizing his own profession's past for susceptibility to corruption, Price sets a model for self-examination that the United States as a whole might heed. And once we decide upon which core values should define contemporary America, we will need to live up to them.”—Barbara McMichael, The Olympian

“Anthropological Intelligence is an extraordinarily timely book for the discipline. . . . [T]his book will become the canonical text for those interested in the relationship between the state and anthropology, particularly as regards intelligence and war.”—Jonathan Zilberg, Leonardo

"A work of immense scholarship, historical importance and, like all his work in this field, courageous. . . .The publication of Anthropological Intelligence is timely, coming as it does when many anthropologists are concerned about the militarisation of their subject through the use of ‘embedded ethnographers’ and the US military's Human Terrain Programme (HTP), which teams social scientists with military units in Iraq and Afghanistan to help soldiers better understand the local culture."—Jeremy Keenan, Times Higher Education Supplement

“David H. Price’s book adds substantially to a historical understanding of social scientists’ service to government and the military during World War II, and it raises troubling questions about the social and institutional roles of knowledge professionals that transcend the temporal conditions of total war. . . . [A] fascinating and important study. . . .”—David Paul Haney, American Historical Review

“[T]imely. . . . Price’s conclusion is that the government authorities read and cited anthropologists’ reports and recommendations when they conformed to the authorities’ views, ignoring them when (usually) they did not—a continuing practice. Recommended. All levels/libraries.”—A. B. Kehoe, Choice

“Price's book makes a significant contribution to the continued importance of this debate within anthropology and in other social sciences, especially with the increasing number of jobs with Human Terrain Systems in a world at war.”—Pamela Frese, Journal of Military History

“[A] provocative thesis that deserves to be scrutinized in current debates about the proper role of intellectuals in the societies and polities of which they are members and citizens — and it should be discussed for the sake of clearing away ‘specifically intellectual obstacles to commensuration, communication, and comprehension.’ . . . Anthropological Intelligence assembles a wealth of detailed information, much of it drawn from previously hidden and unusual government archives. . . .”—Richard A. Shweder, Common Knowledge

“One of this book’s great merits is the combination of meticulous documentation with lucid analysis. . . . Although we may not agree with him on all analytical conclusions he draws, the scholarly community still has to be grateful for this impressive scholarly achievement. After all, it provides for the very first time a solid basis for a debate which has been long overdue. In all likelihood, this volume will remain the standard reference book for the years to come. It is an indispensable source of insights not only for anthropologists, who will gain a thoroughly new understanding about their own field’s historical contexts of reemergence after 1945.”—Andre Gingrich, Left History

“David Price, in Anthropological intelligence, has crafted a historical anthropology that is immensely relevant to current debates over disciplinary roles and obligations in wartime. Indeed, as an American anthropologist, I have been looking for this book for my entire professional life. It lays out in painstaking detail the complicated agendas, actions, and ramifications of engagement by anthropologists about whose work I had heard whispers and rumors, yet. . .I had never managed to track down the full story.”—Barbara Rose Johnston, Journal of Anthropological Research

“Anthropological Intelligence is written with vigor. Its author, David Price, is the foremost authority on the way anthropology was transformed by the Cold War and World War II. . . . There are no heroes or villains in this detailed study and this is a testament to Price’s scholarship, careful documentation, and command of the subject matter.”—William J. Peace, Comparative Studies in Society and History

“David Price’s revealing history of anthropological collaboration with government and military authorities during World War II, an earlier and better appreciated conflict, provides important background understanding about what happens when anthropologists go to war.”—Lamont Lindstrom, Pacific Affairs

“Price has written an important account of the flawed and problematical role of anthropologists during a time of national crisis. . . . Price has done anthropology and those concerned about the machinations of government officials a great service in making such information available in such readable, engrossing form. In these present, precarious times the lessons to be learned from this book are especially apt.”
—T.O. Beidelman, Ethnos

“This very well-written volume by David Price is one of the best and most important analyses of the relations between anthropology and wider public issues that I have read during the past decade.”—Eyal Ben-Ari, Social Anthropology

“This well-researched book is the most comprehensive account to date on the
interrelation of the work of anthropologists with American government policies and practices during World War II.—Margaret Caffrey, Diplomatic History

“Price has been a determined – if sometimes lonely – voice highlighting the risks of anthropological collaboration, both covert and overt, with military and intelligence agencies. . . . One of the strengths of this compendious and diverse book is its careful retelling and rendition of archival sources.”—David Mills, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute

“David Price makes a major contribution to our understanding of the political history of the field, detailing the multifaceted involvement of anthropologists in World War II, as well as the remaking of anthropological objects and techniques through an engagement with military interests. . . . Written with a sense of urgency, Anthropological Intelligence could well be taught in ethnographic methods courses to engage the larger politics of academic production under conditions of militarization but should be widely read by anyone interested in the militarization of knowledge. Price’s work challenges all of us involved in academic work to engage the larger political contexts of our professional lives and to grapple directly with the uses, and potential misuses, of ethnographic work.”—Joseph Masco, Political and Legal Anthropological Review

“The larger question this study raises is whether anthropology can be ethically applied in the service of any powerful organization, military or otherwise. If the answer—as Price implies—is no, then what is anthropological knowledge good for? For a discipline striving to refashion itself as relevant for solving practical problems, and not just for creating
humanistic understanding or advocating for the interests of marginalized communities, this question is a challenging one indeed.”—Ira Bashkow, American Ethnologist

“Price has done a masterful job of weaving a complex tapestry of American wartime anthropology. . . . Price's work reveals that even in a ‘good war”’like WWII, anthropologists often stood on ethically shaky ground when working for military and intelligence agencies, and some of them came to regret the long-term consequences of their participation. . . . Anthropological Intelligence could not have come at a more critical time as the Pentagon, the CIA, and countless private contract firms (such as BAE Systems and NEK Advanced Securities) aggressively seek to recruit social scientists for positions ranging from ‘Intelligence Analyst’ to ‘Field Anthropologist’ on experimental counterinsurgency teams. Price's work gives us fair warning of the pitfalls that are likely to accompany such collaborations.”—Roberto J. González, Anthropological Quarterly

“In patiently scrutinizing his own profession's past for susceptibility to corruption, Price sets a model for self-examination that the United States as a whole might heed. And once we decide upon which core values should define contemporary America, we will need to live up to them.”—Barbara McMichael, The Olympian

“Anthropological Intelligence is an extraordinarily timely book for the discipline. . . . [T]his book will become the canonical text for those interested in the relationship between the state and anthropology, particularly as regards intelligence and war.”—Jonathan Zilberg, Leonardo

"A work of immense scholarship, historical importance and, like all his work in this field, courageous. . . .The publication of Anthropological Intelligence is timely, coming as it does when many anthropologists are concerned about the militarisation of their subject through the use of ‘embedded ethnographers’ and the US military's Human Terrain Programme (HTP), which teams social scientists with military units in Iraq and Afghanistan to help soldiers better understand the local culture."—Jeremy Keenan, Times Higher Education Supplement

“David H. Price’s book adds substantially to a historical understanding of social scientists’ service to government and the military during World War II, and it raises troubling questions about the social and institutional roles of knowledge professionals that transcend the temporal conditions of total war. . . . [A] fascinating and important study. . . .”—David Paul Haney, American Historical Review

“[T]imely. . . . Price’s conclusion is that the government authorities read and cited anthropologists’ reports and recommendations when they conformed to the authorities’ views, ignoring them when (usually) they did not—a continuing practice. Recommended. All levels/libraries.”—A. B. Kehoe, Choice

“Price's book makes a significant contribution to the continued importance of this debate within anthropology and in other social sciences, especially with the increasing number of jobs with Human Terrain Systems in a world at war.”—Pamela Frese, Journal of Military History

“[A] provocative thesis that deserves to be scrutinized in current debates about the proper role of intellectuals in the societies and polities of which they are members and citizens — and it should be discussed for the sake of clearing away ‘specifically intellectual obstacles to commensuration, communication, and comprehension.’ . . . Anthropological Intelligence assembles a wealth of detailed information, much of it drawn from previously hidden and unusual government archives. . . .”—Richard A. Shweder, Common Knowledge

“One of this book’s great merits is the combination of meticulous documentation with lucid analysis. . . . Although we may not agree with him on all analytical conclusions he draws, the scholarly community still has to be grateful for this impressive scholarly achievement. After all, it provides for the very first time a solid basis for a debate which has been long overdue. In all likelihood, this volume will remain the standard reference book for the years to come. It is an indispensable source of insights not only for anthropologists, who will gain a thoroughly new understanding about their own field’s historical contexts of reemergence after 1945.”—Andre Gingrich, Left History

“In this objective and scrupulous account, David H. Price performs an invaluable service by raising a central ethical question: To what extent should social scientists lend their skills to national tasks, even if the goals are not those with which they are in agreement? By carefully documenting what American anthropologists did to help win World War II, he illuminates that murky ethical space that lies between patriotism and the tasks of science.”—Sidney W. Mintz, Johns Hopkins University

“In this objective and scrupulous account, David H. Price performs an invaluable service by raising a central ethical question: To what extent should social scientists lend their skills to national tasks, even if the goals are not those with which they are in agreement? By carefully documenting what American anthropologists did to help win World War II, he illuminates that murky ethical space that lies between patriotism and the tasks of science.”—Sidney W. Mintz, Johns Hopkins University

“David H. Price is, without any doubt, our foremost authority on the ways in which anthropologists were used in World War II and the Cold War and on the ways in which those wars changed anthropology. Price knows how to use the Freedom of Information Act like no other anthropologist, and he has succeeded in unearthing a wealth of fascinating information about the military uses of anthropology in World War II. Anthropological Intelligence is at once a fascinating and entertaining source of trivia on anthropology’s ancestors and a keenly argued lament for what war has done to a humane discipline. Showing an encyclopedic command of the facts, Price writes with urbane elegance and a strikingly judicious compassion toward those whom he critiques. Anthropological Intelligence could not be more timely. At a moment when war is once more on anthropologists’ minds, it will become the canonical book on anthropology and the ‘good war’ while raising troubling questions for those in the age of the ‘war on terror’ who would like, once more, to mobilize anthropology for war.”—Hugh Gusterson, author of People of the Bomb: Portraits of America’s Nuclear Complex

Permission to Photocopy (coursepacks)

If you are requesting permission to photocopy material for classroom use, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at copyright.com;

If the Copyright Clearance Center cannot grant permission, you may request permission from our Copyrights & Permissions Manager (use Contact Information listed below).

Permission to Reprint

If you are requesting permission to reprint DUP material (journal or book selection) in another book or in any other format, contact our Copyrights & Permissions Manager (use Contact Information listed below).

Images/Art

Many images/art used in material copyrighted by Duke University Press are controlled, not by the Press, but by the owner of the image. Please check the credit line adjacent to the illustration, as well as the front and back matter of the book for a list of credits. You must obtain permission directly from the owner of the image. Occasionally, Duke University Press controls the rights to maps or other drawings. Please direct permission requests for these images to permissions@dukeupress.edu.
For book covers to accompany reviews, please contact the publicity department.

Subsidiary Rights/Foreign Translations

If you're interested in a Duke University Press book for subsidiary rights/translations, please contact permissions@dukeupress.edu. Include the book title/author, rights sought, and estimated print run.

Disability Requests

Instructions for requesting an electronic text on behalf of a student with disabilities are available here.

Rights & Permissions Contact Information

Email: permissions@dukeupress.edu

Email contact for coursepacks: asstpermissions@dukeupress.edu

Fax: 919-688-4574

Mail:
Duke University Press
Rights and Permissions
905 W. Main Street
Suite 18B
Durham, NC 27701

For all requests please include:

1. Author's name. If book has an editor that is different from the article author, include editor's name also.

2. Title of the journal article or book chapter and title of journal or title of book

3. Page numbers (if excerpting, provide specifics)

For coursepacks, please also note: The number of copies requested, the school and professor requesting

For reprints and subsidiary rights, please also note: Your volume title, publication date, publisher, print run, page count, rights sought