Ernest S. (Tiger) Burch, Jr. (1938-2010)

摘要

On 16 September 2010, the field of northern anthropology lost its most renowned ethnologist with the unexpected passing of Ernest S. (Tiger) Burch, Jr., who died at his home in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, at age 72. Known almost universally as "Tiger," he was a passionate and meticulous researcher, an extremely productive and influential scholar, and a "professional" in the very best sense of the word. ... Born in New Haven, Connecticut, on 17 April 1938, Tiger was the eldest of three children of Elsie Lillard Burch and the late Ernest S. Burch, Sr. Tiger's formal academic resume included a bachelor's degree in Sociology from Princeton University (BA, 1960), graduate degrees in Anthropology from the University of Chicago (MA, 1963; PhD, 1966), and service as associate professor and chair in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Manitoba (1966-74). After leaving the halls of academia, in 1979 Tiger became a research associate at the Smithsonian Institution and its Arctic Studies Center in Washington, D.C. He retained the Smithsonian affiliation for the rest of his life; however, it was non-paid, so he was actually an independent researcher for the last 30+ years of his career, producing the majority of his anthropological work in his home office and without institutional support. ... Burch's work was characterized by deliberate purpose, exhaustive research (with an intense interest in archival records), critical attention to detail, and precise writing. ... Tiger possessed great self-confidence but even greater humility; he never deluded himself into thinking he was incapable of error or had nothing left to learn. ... Burch's candor in admitting his own mistakes was intended to help others avoid their replication, thereby contributing to the advancement of social scientific research. ... Tiger never sought the spotlight and appeared uncomfortable when it shone on him, which it often did. His accomplishments were formally recognized by his peers on two notable occasions: he received the Alaska Anthropological Association's "Professional Achievement Award" in 2003 and the "Life Achievement Award" of the International Congress of Arctic Social Scientists in 2008. A festschrift to Tiger is in progress and should be completed in 2012; it will further highlight his enormous influences in the realm of Arctic social sciences. ..