Cora Du Bois

Susan C. Seymour

Cora Du Bois's intellect and curiosity propelled her into a remarkable life as an anthropologist and diplomat in the vanguard of social and academic change. Du Bois studied with Franz Boas, a founder of American anthropology. During World War II, she served as a high-ranking officer for the Office of Strategic Services. After the war she joined the State Department as chief of the Southeast Asia Branch of the Division of Research for the Far East. She was also the first female full professor, with tenure, appointed at Harvard University and became president of the American Anthropological Association. Du Bois worked to keep her public and private lives separate, especially while facing the FBI{u2019}s harassment as an opponent of U.S. engagements in Vietnam and as a "liberal" lesbian during the McCarthy era. This biography weaves together Du Bois's personal and professional lives to...