Coming of Age in Samoa

Abstract

Coming of Age in Samoa is a book by American anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901 - 1978) based upon her research and study of youth on the island of Ta'u in the Samoa Islands which primarily focused on adolescent girls. Mead was 23-years old when she carried out her field work in Samoa. First published in 1928, the book launched Mead as a pioneering researcher and the most famous anthropologist in the world. Since its first publication, Coming of Age in Samoa is still the most widely read book in the field of anthropology. The book has sparked years of ongoing and intense debate and controversy on questions pertaining to society, culture and science. It is a key text in the nature vs nurture debate as well as issues relating to family, adolescence, gender, social norms and attitudes.[1] The foreword is written by another anthropologist, Franz Boas (1858 - 1942), a mentor of Meads and a strong opponent of the racial determinism theory, similar to the theory of social determinism. The book also mentions youth in Americ