Sol Tax

Sol Tax (January 30, 1902 – November 4, 1995) was an American anthropologist known for his work in action anthropology, applied anthropology, and advocacy anthropology. He was a professor at the University of Chicago for many years and played a significant role in developing and promoting ethical approaches to anthropological research and practice.

Tax's key contributions include the development of "action anthropology," which emphasizes collaboration between anthropologists and the communities they study, with the goal of empowering those communities to address their own problems. He believed that anthropologists had a responsibility to use their knowledge and skills to improve the lives of the people they worked with.

He founded the journal Current Anthropology in 1959, which rapidly became a leading publication in the field, fostering international dialogue and scholarship. Tax also organized the "Wenner-Gren Foundation International Symposiums in Anthropology," which brought together leading anthropologists from around the world to discuss pressing issues facing the discipline.

One of his most notable projects was the "Fox Project," a long-term study of the Meskwaki (Fox) Indians in Iowa. This project exemplified his commitment to action anthropology and involved working with the Meskwaki community to address issues such as poverty, education, and cultural preservation. Tax's approach emphasized respect for the Meskwaki's autonomy and their right to self-determination.

Tax was a strong advocate for human rights and social justice. He believed that anthropology could play a crucial role in promoting these values and in challenging systems of oppression and inequality. He left a lasting legacy on the field of anthropology, inspiring generations of scholars to engage in ethically informed and socially responsible research.