| Reprinted from the Middle East Studies
Association Bulletin, Summer 2001 (with changes in orthography to HTML standards). Copyright 2001 by the Middle East Studies Association of North America |
| David Montgomery
Hart, an expert on the tribes of the Rif Highlands of Morocco, died on 22 May 2001 in
Garrucha, Spain at the age of seventy-four. During the 1950s and 1960s, Mr. Hart lived for many years among Berber-speaking peoples in the Rif Mountains. Trained as an anthropologist at Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Hart wrote a number of books based on his experiences in the
Rif, the most ambitious of which was The Aith Waryaghar of the Moroccan
Rif, published in 1976. The book is considered to be the most comprehensive and meticulous ethnographic study of a Rifian people ever written. Mr. Hart also spent several years studying the Ait ‘Atta Berbers in southern Morocco. He wrote two books which are considered the standard ethnographies of this tribal confederation: Dada ‘Atta and His Forty Grandsons: the Socio-Political Organization of the Ait ‘Atta of Southern Morocco and The Ait ‘Atta of Southern Morocco: Daily Life and Recent History. Mr. Hart was an anthropologist of the old school, living the day-to-day life of the peoples he studied and relying on exhaustive field observations and interviews to reach his conclusions. Fellow anthropologist and noted Islamic scholar Akbar S. Ahmed wrote: “Hart’s brand of anthropology reflects the old tradition when an anthropologist relied on his ears and eyes for his notes—the reader smelled the village and heard its noises—and anthropology was still a general all-encompassing description of an entire society. It is a perspective that is dying, and the discipline will be the poorer for its demise.” Because of his many years living among rural Berbers, Mr. Hart was eminently qualified to describe the society, culture, and history of these peoples. America’s preeminent anthropologist Clifford Geertz of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton said Mr. Hart’s devotion to his subject matter was inspirational to other anthropologists. “Every cohort that works in Morocco has its romantic image of the place,” Dr. Geertz wrote, “in my image David Hart, the exultant ethnographer, is dead center.” Mr. Hart also did field work in Pakistan and archival research in several European countries. He was fluent in two Berber languages, as well as Arabic, German, French, and Spanish. Mr. Hart was also well known among social anthropologists of North Africa for the extensive correspondence he maintained with other experts. “As his friends all over the world will testify, his pen pours forth an unending stream of ideas, comments, prejudices and plans in letters,” Dr. Ahmed wrote. “They reflect the man: warm, honest, cantankerous, innovative and, above all, a committed anthropologist.” Ernest Gellner, the late British philosopher and social scientist, observed that Hart “developed and perfected a distinctive literary form, the long ethnographic letter.” “Its recipients and beneficiaries have included most of the scholars working on North African societies over four decades at least,” Dr. Gellner noted. “His energy and generosity in this respect, with postage as well as data and ideas, is simply unrivaled. The consequence has been that all these scholars received an unpaid initiation and sustained thorough training in North African ethnography.” In the mid-1960s, Mr. Hart married Ursula Cook Kingsmill, an Englishwoman, who lived with him among the Berber tribes for many years. Mr. Hart moved to Spain in the early 1970s where he enjoyed a growing reputation among Spanish scholars who studied North Africa. In the mid-1990s a research foundation in his name was founded at the University of Granada. Among his other books are Guardians of the Khaibar Pass; the Social Organization and History of the Afridis of Pakistan and Banditry in Islam; and Case Studies From Morocco, Algeria and the Pakistan North West Frontier. Mr. Hart was born in Philadelphia in 1927. Prior to his life in Morocco, he worked for Aramco in Saudi Arabia where he studied Islamic culture. Pre-deceased by his wife, Mr. Hart is survived by a brother Dr. Brandon Hart of Hamilton, MA, and a sister Sarah Brodsky of Yonkers, NY, and three stepchildren, Carrol Johnson of Oxford, England, Christine Rosenkrantz of St. Petersburg, Florida, and Stephen Boycott of Namaimo, Canada. Sarah Gordon Hart University of Pennsylvania With the death of M. A. Jazayery (1924-2000), the profession of Iranian studies in North America has lost a Persianist who set the highest academic standards for himself and his chosen field of Persian studies. He was the first modernly-trained linguist who worked tirelessly for four decades to modernize the teaching of the Persian language and culture at various institutions of higher learning, Peace Corps programs, and several other research projects funded by government agencies and cultural foundations. Professor Jazayery’s deep commitment to Persian linguistics and his fascination with sociocultural issues drove him to deepen his understanding about complex issues pertaining to language and culture through extensive self-study. His research articles on Persian language in contact with other languages and cultures represent original work in this area. Professor Jazayery’s scholarly interest led him to share his views with other members of the profession through writing reviews and articles for scholarly journals and organizations, including the Middle East Studies Association of North America, the American Oriental Society, the Linguistic Society of American, and the Modern Language Association. As a teacher, he gave his students full attention, never sparing his time to help them in private conferences and to tutor them when they had special problems. During my long collaboration with Professor Jazayery at the University of Texas, first as his student and later as his assistant, I was very much impressed by the obvious effort he put into preparing his courses, whether they were very beginning or advanced graduate courses in Persian or linguistics. The results of his efforts manifested themselves in an increasing number of students becoming attracted to the study of Persian and the enthusiasm he was able to kindle in his students. His colleagues and students who were close to him and knew him well will have fond memories of their association with him. To me, as one of his closest associates, he will be deeply missed. Mehdi Marashi Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Anne Cabot Ogilvy, age sixty-nine, died in Philadelphia on 13 November 2000 after a brief illness. Anne’s life combined family, professional activities, and international travel and research in a near classic twentieth-century style. She played an active role in Near Eastern archaeological and academic studies as a staff member on several archaeological projects, as a researcher in zooarchaeology, and as an officer and trustee of both the American Schools of Oriental Research (Boston, MA) and the American Center of Oriental Research (Amman, Jordan). After receiving her BA in philosophy from Harvard in 1965, Anne studied archaeological faunal analysis at Columbia University. As a pioneer zooarchaeologist she participated in several archaeological projects during the 1970s including the excavations at Tell Dan and Caesarea in Israel and at Stobi in Macedonia. As an active archaeologist and trustee of ASOR and ACOR she traveled widely, particularly in Egypt, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. Her academic papers include “The Fauna of Phlamoudhi-Melissa: An Interim Report,” in Report of the Department of Antiquities Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus, 1975 (Brian C. Hesse, Anne C. Ogilvy, and Paula Wapnish), pp. 5-28, and “The 1974 Collection of Faunal Remains from Tel Dan,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 227: 35-62, 1976 (Wapnish, Hesse, and Ogilvy). Anne was an avid participant in organizations supporting archaeological research and scholarship. She belonged to the Middle East Studies Association and the Archaeological Institute of America, and was a life member of the American Schools of Oriental Research and the American Oriental Society. Anne complemented her devotion to scholarship in Near Eastern archaeology with a commitment to philanthropy. As such, she donated generously to ASOR, ACOR, and other organizations. Anne joined the ASOR Board of Trustees in the early 1970s and held many offices over a period of twenty years, including that of Assistant Treasurer. In 1998 she received the ASOR Membership Service Award in recognition of her exceptional service and contributions. Anne was also a trustee of the William F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research (AIAR) in Jerusalem for a number of years. In 1986 Anne joined the ACOR Board of Trustees and remained an active member of its Executive Committee until her death. Her various appointments included the offices of Secretary, Treasurer, and Chair of the Finance Committee. Yet her most outstanding contribution to ACOR was as Chair of the Library Committee. In this capacity Anne worked tirelessly to enhance ACOR’s archaeological research library in Amman. In 1993 a plaque commemorating her dedicated support was placed in the library. Anne’s generosity as a supporter of archaeology was matched by her generosity of spirit. She was quick to value the work of her colleagues and she held a deep and knowledgeable respect for the cultures and peoples of the Middle East. Anne was always surrounded by friends, and her remarkable dry wit and rich laughter were a delight at any occasion. Anne and her companion of nearly twenty-five years, the late Dr. H. Keith Beebe, Professor Emeritus of Religion at Occidental College, actively supported education and training for young Arab archaeologists and researchers. They also shared deep concerns for contemporary Middle East issues, particularly the plight of Palestinian refugees. Anne continued to travel in the Middle East, even as her health began to falter. In 1999 she toured more than sixty archaeological sites in Jordan, Israel, Syria, Cyprus, and the West Bank with ASOR colleagues. In the following year she was greatly heartened to return to a peaceful Lebanon. Anne’s death is a profound loss for the academic communities engaged in the various aspects of Middle East Studies she supported so avidly. Her many loving friends will think often of her as they continue their research in Near Eastern antiquity. Countless others will benefit from her generosity, particularly those who find an opportunity to visit ACOR and take advantage of its unique library collection. Memorial contributions may be sent to the American Center of Oriental Research Library Fund, ACOR/ASOR Offices, 656 Beacon St., 5th Floor, Boston MA 02215. Robin M. Brown and Bert de Vries TERC; Calvin College |
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