Helen B. Schwartzman

Helen B. Schwartzman

Helen B. Schwartzman (Professor Emerita of Anthropology, Northwestern University) is a psychological anthropologist who specializes in the study of childhood development and play and the anthropology of work and organizations. As an Americanist, she is drawn to the study of everyday activities that have been neglected by researchers and taken for granted by participants. This has led to studies examining how children construct play worlds for themselves, the role of meetings in organizations and communities and storytelling in work settings. Dr. Schwartzman was President of The Association for the Anthropological Study of Play (TAASP) from 1978-1979. Her publications include Transformations: The Anthropology of Children’s Play (1978), which was the first comprehensive examination of the literature on children’s play in anthropology; Play and Culture (1980, Editor), The Meeting: Gatherings in Organizations and Communities (1989), Ethnography in Organizations (1993) and Children and Anthropology: Perspectives for the 21st Century (2001, Editor).