Miklouho-Maclay’s Legacy in Russian- and English-Language Academic Research, 1992–2017
Miklouho-Maclay’s Legacy in Russian- and English-Language Academic Research, 1992–2017
DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2019.47.2.112-121
A.V. Tutorsky1, E.V. Govor2, and C. Ballard2, 3 1Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie gory 1, Moscow, 119991, Russia 2Australian National University, Sir Roland Wilson Building, 120 McCoy Circuit, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia 3University of French Polynesia, Puna’auia, BP 6570, 98702 Faa’a, Tahiti, French Polynesia
This article provides an overview of recent research dedicated to the legacy of the Russian scientist and traveler Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay. The first part deals with the so-called “classic” approach of the second half of the 20th century, which tended towards a mythologized and idealized portrait of Miklouho-Maclay, as evidenced by the publications of D.D. Tumarkin and the second edition of the Complete Works of N.N. Miklouho-Maclay, published in the 1990s. The second part addresses articles published during the 1990s and 2000s that have sought to “demythologize” and reevaluate standard perspectives on Miklouho-Maclay. Some authors, rather than overestimating his achievements, tend to understate the impact of his work. The third part deals with English-language articles about Miklouho-Maclay’s legacy. These are mostly translations of Miklouho-Maclay’s archival texts from Russian, with scholarly commentary. However, an ongoing Australian research project conducted by Chris Ballard and Elena Govor has begun a sustained program of fieldwork with descendants of the Melanesian source communities with which Miklouho-Maclay worked, seeking new insights into his texts and especially his drawings as a form of dialogic approach to culture. We propose to study Miklouho-Maclay’s legacy using modern approaches to anthropological theory. This will hopefully result in a unified image of the scientist, rather than separate images of an anthropologist, an artist, a humanist, etc. Also, the use of Miklouho-Maclay’s drawings, in addition to his texts, will be an important step toward a dialogic study of Oceanic cultures.
