Dr. Martin Gary Silverman

daniel-anthony-phillipsMartin Gary Silverman, Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia, passed away on June 29, 2018. Martin was a consummate academic, sharing his love of human culture at several universities, including Harvard, Princeton, Chicago, and finally the University of British Columbia (UBC). Professor Silverman joined the UBC Department of Anthropology and Sociology in 1977 and served as Head from 1981 to 1987. An innovative teacher and scholar, he taught undergraduate courses on anthropological theory, kinship, and Oceania and supervised numerous graduate students over the years. Martin made significant research contributions to the study of the peoples of Oceania, sociolinguistics, and symbolic anthropology. He is perhaps best known for his contributions to the field of symbolic anthropology, co-authoring (with Stephen Barnett) the influential volume: Ideology and Everyday Life: Anthropology, Neomarxist Thought, and the Problem of Ideology and the Social Whole (Michigan, 1979). Martin continued to plan journal articles and order rare books on linguistics in his final years.

Martin was born in New York City on September 23, 1939 and prepared at the Bronx High School of Science in New York. At Harvard, he majored in anthropology and was a member of Quincy House.

Predeceased by his wife and soulmate, Madeline, he leaves his loving children Daniel, Anna, and Marc. Martin was very aware of how privileged he was, especially regarding the care that he received in his later years. In lieu of flowers, we invite you to pay tribute to Martin by donating to the long-term care facility of your choice.