Abstract:
When Claude Levi-Strauss passed away in 2009, his permanent absence from the
philosophical, intellectual and anthropological arenas paved the way for a suitable
opportunity for the scholars and critics of the history of science to shed more light on
the intellectual and philosophical status in France. His absence also provides them with
the occasion to accomplish a great deal of critiques and reviews on the trajectory of
French anthropology. This essay intends to provide a critical review of the historical
trajectory of this eminent school; a school which has left a prominent impact not only
on the anthropological sphere but also on the entire human thought. As such, this essay
intends to focus on some of the most historically important junctures in the course of
history of French anthropology. It also draws the attention to the transformations that
the school has gone through and the influential role which has been played by its grand
personages in those transformations. In its epilogue, the essay draws further attention to
what it envisages as the prominent features which have distinguished this school from
other schools, and it focuses on what made its contributions notable and different.