Z archeologii laboratorium humanistycznego. Zwodniczy przypadek Laboratoire d’anthropologie socjale Claude’a Lévi-Straussa
A Tricky Case of Claude Lévi-Strauss’s Laboratoire d’anthropologie sociale: From the Archaeology of the Humanities Lab

Summary/Abstract: A contemporary proliferation of an idea and institution of the humanities laboratory serves as a background for our case study of Laboratoire d’anthropologie sociale (LAS), founded in 1960 by Claude Lévi-Strauss. In this paper we examine three aspects of the LAS’ functioning: the significance of infrastructure (acquiring and using the Human Relations Area Files repository), experimenting (constructing models and mobiles) and collaboration (interpersonal relationships). LAS seems a forgotten initiative provoking questions as to an actual status of the humanities lab: is it merely an imitation of the natural sciences laboratory, or perhaps a rhetorical device employed by Lévi-Strauss aiming to gain academic prestige and benefits, or is it indeed a fully-fledged humanities laboratory fulfilling scientistic ambitions and aspirations of the structural anthropology?

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