Françoise Héritier

Françoise Héritier (born 15 November 1933) is a French anthropologist,^[1][2] ethonologue, and feminist.^[3] She is the successor of Claude Lévi-Strauss at the Collège de France (Chair of Comparative Studies of African Societies from 1982 to 1998, now emeritus professor). Her work deals mainly with the theory of alliances and on the prohibition of incest (both theories based on the notion of exchange of women). In addition to Lévi-Strauss, she was also influenced by Alfred Radcliffe-Brown. She was replaced by Philippe Descola, who is the current holder of the chair of anthropology at the Collège.

Biography

Françoise Héritier is part of the structuralism movement. She is well known for her works in the theory of alliances and the prohibition of incest based on the notion of the circulation of women in the society. In her book "Masculin/Feminin",^[4] she notes that the distinction between the feminine and the masculine is universal and that exists everywhere; and that the male is always considered superior to the women. She called this concept "the differential valence of the sexes" (la valence différentielle des sexes) that she preferred to the concept of the masculine domination^[5] used by Pierre Bourdieu or Maurice Godelier.

Works

• Françoise Héritier, The Sweetness of Life, Penguin, 2014.
• Françoise Héritier, Two Sisters and Their Mother: The Anthropology of Incest, MIT press, 2000

References