D. Douglas Caulkins, 1940-2023

On February 21, 2023, Applied Anthropology lost one of its most avid and long-standing advocates and teachers.  Douglas Caulkins, 82, died at the Mayflower Health Center in Grinnell, Iowa, the town where he and his wife, Lorna, had lived  since 1970 when Doug joined the then recently established  Anthropology Department at Grinnell College.  Doug was born in South Dakota and raised in Rapid City.  He completed his undergraduate degree at Carlton College in Minnesota and his PhD at Cornell University in upstate New York.  From the time he joined the Anthropology Department at Grinnell College, where he was to spend the rest of his career, Doug believed that students needed not only to know how to read anthropological texts; they also needed to know how to do anthropology.  Doug developed the first Ethnographic Methods class soon after his arrival at the college.  He was absolutely unshakeable in his belief that undergraduates were capable of conducting original research that was insightful and sophisticated.  He envisioned establishing a program where students would have an opportunity to study abroad as a group: in 1974, that idea became the Grinnell-in-London program, which continues to bring two Grinnell faculty members and a group of students to England every year for the fall semester.  Doug taught in the program five times and during those semesters, under his guidance, students carried out a range of ethnographic projects, both in London and in rural villages on the English-Welsh border.

Doug always believed in the power of anthropology as a critical tool for addressing human problems and challenges; thus was his affinity for applied anthropology, and he was a long-time member of the SfAA.  He taught courses in and did research projects on such topics as urban anthropology, the anthropology of Europe, organizational culture, entrepreneurship, and ethnic identity.  Although his own doctoral fieldwork had been based in Norway, for the remainder of his working life, he worked mostly in the UK, carrying out a range of projects in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as at home in Iowa.  He was a devoted mentor to his students, and co-authored and co-presented this work with many of them over the years.

Doug was an astonishingly prolific scholar, who published over 80 articles and book chapters in scholarly outlets.  He was a frequent presenter at conferences and, in 2013, he co-edited the book, Companion to Organizational Anthropology.  During his long career at Grinnell College, he played several roles, including serving as the Earl D. Strong Professor of Social Studies and as the chair of the Wilson Program in Enterprise and Leadership.  Even after he officially retired in 2011, he he continued to invite Grinnell alumni to share their work experiences and advice with graduating seniors in a course he taught on career development.  He understood anthropology to be a discipline whose perspectives on such issues as cultural and ethnic diversity, conflict, reconciliation, and social policy, among others, were critical for forging a better future for humankind.  He communicated this commitment to generations of students, many of whom have gone on to put those teachings into practice.  Doug is survived by his companion of 59 years, Lorna, always his co-instigator and collaborator, and by scores of students, who have benefitted so greatly from his selfless mentoring and wise counsel.  We will do our very best to carry forward his legacy of meticulous enquiry while, at the same time, always emulating his extraordinary gift for providing nurturing care to others.