Elliot Liebow
Elliot Liebow was an American urban anthropologist and ethnographer. His works include Tally's Corner and Tell Them Who I Am, both being micro-sociological writings shaped as participant observer studies of people in poor areas.
Dr. Liebow, born in Washington, dropped out of high school to join the Marine Corps in 1942 and saw action in the South Pacific during World War II, when he earned his high school diploma through correspondence courses. He received a bachelor's degree in English literature from George Washington University in 1949 and pursued graduate studies in ancient history at the University of Maryland before turning to anthropology.
In 1984, after being told he had less than a year to live, Dr. Liebow left his post with the National Institute of Mental Health and began volunteering at a soup kitchen and a homeless shelter for women. He wrote that once he realized he was not about to die immediately, he decided to do what he did best as a field anthropologist: he began taking notes. The result was "Tell Them Who I Am."
Tally's Corner was his PhD dissertation for Catholic University of America.
For many years, Dr. Liebow was chief of the Center for the Study of Work and Mental Health of the National Institute of Mental Health. Under his leadership, the center, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, financed research into issues like the democratization of the workplace, the quality of work life, women on welfare and the relationship of work to mental health. Since 1990, he held the Patrick Cardinal O'Boyle Professorship at the National Catholic School for Social Service of the Catholic University of America in Washington.
Dr. Liebow, born in Washington, dropped out of high school to join the Marine Corps in 1942 and saw action in the South Pacific during World War II, when he earned his high school diploma through correspondence courses. He received a bachelor's degree in English literature from George Washington University in 1949 and pursued graduate studies in ancient history at the University of Maryland before turning to anthropology.
In 1984, after being told he had less than a year to live, Dr. Liebow left his post with the National Institute of Mental Health and began volunteering at a soup kitchen and a homeless shelter for women. He wrote that once he realized he was not about to die immediately, he decided to do what he did best as a field anthropologist: he began taking notes. The result was "Tell Them Who I Am."
Tally's Corner was his PhD dissertation for Catholic University of America.
For many years, Dr. Liebow was chief of the Center for the Study of Work and Mental Health of the National Institute of Mental Health. Under his leadership, the center, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, financed research into issues like the democratization of the workplace, the quality of work life, women on welfare and the relationship of work to mental health. Since 1990, he held the Patrick Cardinal O'Boyle Professorship at the National Catholic School for Social Service of the Catholic University of America in Washington.
