German anthropology and the making of modern mexico, 1880-1940

”German Anthropology and the Making of Modern Mexico” demonstrates how international networks of science developed between Germany and Mexico around the turn of the 20th century, not just in public institutions like conferences and universities but in the personal connections people make. It uses the lives of Caecilie Seler-Sachs and her husband Eduard Seler, leading scholars in the study of New World civilizations, to show how gender, class, and personal history contributed to the creation of scientific knowledge and how the experiences of travel and collecting influenced the non-scientific lives of scholars.

This study also shows how Mexican intellectuals reshaped German-language intellectual traditions to create new government agencies and programs after the Revolution of 1910. These policies used anthropology to help integrate indigenous peoples into the new nation. I argue that Mexican intellectuals utilized German strands of social science because people like the Selers used cultural contexts rather than biological factors to explain human behavior. Their approach was attractive to these Mexican scholars because it meant that Mexico’s unique historical context shaped Mexican development and challenged European notions of superiority.

My study contributes to our understanding of the creative lives of scientists and their place within international networks of knowledge production. Furthermore, it connects intellectual history with material culture, world politics, and feminism by showing the interconnections between the private and public lives of intellectuals.