Special Event Book Presentation: Embracing difference in a racist world Franz Boas in defence of open minds Add to calendar 2026-03-09 14:00 2026-03-09 15:30 Europe/Rome Book Presentation: Embracing difference in a racist world Hannah Arendt Room Via Cavour 61 YYYY-MM-DD Print Share: Share on Facebook Share on BlueSky Share on X Share on LinkedIn Send by email Scheduled dates Mar 09 2026 14:00 - 15:30 CET Hannah Arendt Room, Via Cavour 61 Organised by Florence School of Transnational Governance Franz Boas (1858–1942) is widely acknowledged for his pioneering work in the field of cultural anthropology. His rigorous studies of cultural variations across societies were aimed at demonstrating that peoples were not shaped by biological predispositions. On the occasion of the publication of her biography, Franz Boas: In Praise of Open Minds (Yale UP), Noga Arikha will discuss with historian of anthropology Valentina Mann how Boas sought to undermine, through both scholarship and intense activism, the pseudo-scientific arguments that propped up racism and theories of eugenics, hugely popular in the America of his day - and resurgent today. Register