Mary Douglas

Dame Mary Douglas DBE FBA

Born	Margaret Mary Tew (1921-03-25)25 March 1921 Sanremo, Italy
Died	16 May 2007(2007-05-16) (aged 86) London, England
Nationality	British
Alma mater	University of Oxford
Known for	Purity and Danger, Natural Symbols, Cultural theory of risk
Awards	FBA, CBE, DBE
Scientific career
Fields	Social anthropology, Comparative religion
Institutions	University College London, Russell Sage Foundation, Northwestern University, Princeton University
Doctoral advisor	E. E. Evans-Pritchard

Anthropology
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Research framework Anthropometry Ethnography cyber Ethnology Cross-cultural comparison Participant observation Holism Reflexivity Thick description Cultural relativism Ethnocentrism Emic and etic
Key concepts Culture Development Ethnicity Evolution sociocultural Gender Kinship and descent Meme Prehistory Race Society Value Colonialism / Postcolonialism
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Dame Mary Douglas, DBE FBA (25 March 1921 – 16 May 2007) was a British anthropologist, known for her writings on human culture, symbolism and risk, whose area of speciality was social anthropology. Douglas was considered a follower of Émile Durkheim and a proponent of structuralist analysis, with a strong interest in comparative religion.