Elizabeth Colson

Who is Elizabeth Colson?

Elizabeth Florence Colson is an American social anthropologist and Professor Emerita of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. She is best known for the classic long-term study of the Tonga people of the Gwembe Valley in Zambia and Zimbabwe, which she began in 1956 with Thayer Scudder. Dr. Colson focused her research on the consequences of forced resettlement on culture and social organization, the effects of economic pressure on familial relationships, rituals, religious life, and even drinking patterns.