February 20, 2015
Never before had a serious book by an anthropologist been sold with a cover like this.
Margaret Mead’s groundbreaking book Coming of Age in Samoa was published in 1928 and was considered a key argument in the nature vs. nurture debate, as well as other issues relating to family, adolescence, gender, social norms, and attitudes. By 1965, the book had done more to put the islands on the national radar than Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour in a sarong.
Mead wrote that the socialization of children in Samoa results in a generally happy adolescence and easy transition to sexual activity and adulthood. Her findings challenged the widely held belief that biological changes occurring during adolescence were necessarily accompanied by social and psychological stress. Mead described the goal of her research as follows: “I have tried to answer the question which sent me to Samoa: Are the disturbances which vex our adolescents due to the nature of adolescence itself or to the civilization? Under different conditions, does adolescence present a different picture?”
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April 1, 2014
Larry exiting a longboat (called a tulula) but this is not Manu’a. The eagle eyes of George Hastings identify it as Aunu’u. But same general idea.
A wave of freezing Pacific crashed over the crowded bow of the deck, soaking the already dripping wet palagis as they huddled together on the hatch of the creaking ship. The moans of the sea barely covered up the groans of the passengers, many of whom were regretting the celebratory dinner they had consumed. Five hours earlier, the television teachers had gathered excitedly on the dock, their piles of luggage outnumbering the amount that most passengers would require for a long pleasure cruise. The Samoans on the trip had each brought an extra lavalava and a case of beer. Everyone travels the world in their own way.
The boating excursion was an information-gathering expedition. The teachers were on their way to Manu’a, a group of three isolated islands that make up the eastern half of American Samoa. The largest island of Ta’u reaches an elevation of 3000 feet, higher than the mountains of Tutuila. The other two are Ofu and Olesaga. The islands are beautiful, with green volcanic peaks covered in lush vegetation and far fewer western influences than the place the travelers now called home.
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The Samoan Letters 