Cambridge and the Torres Strait

Torres Strait has an established place in the history of anthropology because of its association with the Cambridge University Expedition of 1898 organised by A. C. Haddon. This early British anthropological expedition is regarded as a seminal event in the formation of academic anthropology in Britain. Its goal was to make an unprecedentedly comprehensive anthropological study embracing ethnology, physical anthropology, psychology, linguistics, sociology and ethnomusicology. The nine interdisciplinary essays in this centenary volume offer ways of looking at and situation the Expedition's work in historical and intellectual debates. Central themes covered are the relationship between the expedition members and the Torres Strait Islanders: the innovations associated with the Expedition and the Expedition's influence on the development of anthropology and psychology. One hundred years on, the results of the Expedition have a contemporary relevance for anthropology and for the Torres Strait Islanders.