Lewis, Oscar, 1914-1970

The effects of White contact upon Blackfoot culture
Book 1973

Summary: Oscar Lewis, born Lefkowitz was an American anthropologist. He is best known for his vivid depictions of the lives of slum dwellers and his argument that a cross-generational culture of poverty transcends national boundaries. Lewis contended that the cultural similarities occurred because they were "common adaptations to common problems" and that "the culture of poverty is both an adaptation and a reaction of the poor classes to their marginal position in a class-stratified, highly individualistic, capitalistic society." He won the 1967 U.S. National Book Award in Science, Philosophy and Religion for La vida: a Puerto Rican family in the culture of poverty--San Juan and New York. Wikipedia
Gender or Sex: Male [1][3][4][5][6]; Unknown [2]
Born: 1914 [2]; 1914-12-25 [5]
Birth Place: New York, N.Y. [3]; New York City [5]
Died: 1970 [2]; 1970-12-16 [5]
Death Place: New York, N.Y. [3]; New York City [5]
Country: United States [2]
Language: English [3]
Occupation: anthropologist [5]; university teacher [5]
Profession: Soziologe [2]
Employer: Brooklyn College [5]; University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign [5]; Washington University in St. Louis [5]; University of Washington [5]
Educated at: City College of New York [5]; Columbia University [5]
Country of Education: United States [5]
Yale LUX: Entity [5]
Notable Names Database: Profile [5]
American National Biography: Biography (requires subscription) [5]

Sources: 1. VIAF; 2. Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (Germany); 3. Bibliothèque nationale de France; 4. National Library of Korea; 5. Wikidata; 6. Library of Congress

Last updated Dec 18, 2025