Cora Du Bois

1. Cora Du Bois

2. Contents
 Early life and education
 Early work
 Work in Indonesia
 Later work
 Modal Personality Structure Theory
 Select publications
 Works Cited

3. Early life and education
 1926-1927 - Du Bois took her first course in anthropology and was
taught by Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict.
 In January 1927 – Du Bois studied under Alfred L. Kroeber and
Robert Lowie.
 1932 – Du Bois received her Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from
Berkeley.
 Du Bois concentrated on the uses of psychiatry in anthropology.

4. Early work
 1929 - Under the guidance of Alfred L. Kroeber and Robert Lowie, Du
Bois began field work among the Wintu people of northern California.
 1936 – Professor of Anthropology at Hunter College.
 1939-1942 – Professor of Anthropology at Sarah Lawrence.

5. Work in Indonesia
 1937-1939 – Du Bois’ most substantial fieldwork was done in Alor, now
Indonesia.
 Du Bois’ focus was on personality and culture of the people of Alor.
 Du Bois learned their language and called it “Abui" or "Aboei".
 Du Bois gained the confidence of the villagers by offering them medical
aid.

6. Later work
 1942-1944 – Applied Anthropology for the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor
to the CIA
 1945-1950 – Applied Anthropology for the State Department
 1950-1951 – Applied Anthropology for the World Health Organization
 1951 – Established a small research unit for the Institute of International Education
 1954-1969 - Zemurray Professor of Anthropology at Harvard University and Radcliffe
College
 1971-1976 – Professor-at-large at Cornell University
 1974 – Professor-at-large at the University of California at San Diego

7. Modal Personality Structure Theory
 DuBois pioneered the concept of "modal personality structure.” Taking
cues from Kardiner and Linton’s concept of basic personality structure,
she proposed that a certain personality structure occurs most frequently
within each society, but that it is not necessarily common to all
members of that society.

8. Select publications
 1939 – “The 1870 Ghost Dance”
 1944 – “People of Alor: A Social-Psychological Study of an East Indian
Island”
 1949 – “Social Forces in Southeast Asia”

9. Works cited – APA Style
 Du Bois, Cora Alice, 1903-1991. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2019, from
https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6qf9632.
 New York Times News Service. (2018, September 3). AUTHOR CORA DUBOIS; SOUTHEAST ASIA
EXPERT. Retrieved November 27, 2019, from https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-
1991-04-14-9102030274-story.html.
 “Special Intelligence.” Accessed November 27, 2019. https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/special-
intelligence/.
 University of Chicago Library. (2008). Guide to the Cora DuBois Papers 1961-1972. Retrieved
November 27, 2019, from
https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.DUBOISC.

10. Works cited – Chicago Style
 “Du Bois, Cora Alice, 1903-1991.” Du Bois, Cora Alice, 1903-1991 - Social Networks and Archival
Context. Accessed November 27, 2019. https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6qf9632.
 New York Times News Service. “AUTHOR CORA DUBOIS; SOUTHEAST ASIA EXPERT.”
chicagotribune.com, September 3, 2018. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-04-14-
9102030274-story.html.
 Special intelligence. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2019, from https://www.the-
tls.co.uk/articles/special-intelligence/.
 “Guide to the Cora DuBois Papers 1961-1972.” 2008. Guide to the Cora DuBois Papers 1961-1972.
University of Chicago Library. 2008.
https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.DUBOISC.