Charles Wagley's work, firmly in the Boasian tradition, reflects his association with and training by Franz Boas, but especially by Ruth Benedict and Ruth Bunzel. Wagley's career as an ethnographer began in the Guatemalan highland town of Santiago Chimaltenango in 1937. Soon thereafter, he turned from Guatemala to Brazil, where he did his first field research (1939-1940) among the Tapirapé Indians. Wagley's Tapirapé revisits culminated in his last book, "Welcome of tears: the Tapirapé Indians of Central Brazil" (1977). Wagley's study of Gurupá began in 1948 and produced various editions of his popular book "Amazon town: a study of man in the Tropics". Wagley co-directed the Bahia State-Columbia University Community Study Project in 1951-1952, culminating in the edited book "Race and class in rural Brazil". Over time, Wagley focused increasingly on non-Indians, ranging from rural towns like Gurupá to Brazilian culture as a whole. Illustrating the latter, Wagley wrote two editions of "Introduction to Brazil", a culturally insightful text that examined unity and diversity in Brazilian culture and society. A man of careful scholarship and keen intellect, Chuck Wagley took great pride in the excellence of his teaching and writing; he also enjoyed sharing his knowledge and insights with a larger public
Charles Wagley; Biography; Ethnography; Rural anthropology; Tapirapé; Gurupá