Sjoerd Hofstra

Sjoerd Hofstra (Idsegahuizum, 21 January 1898 – Thun, 14 April 1983) was a Dutch sociologist and anthropologist, best known as the first Dutch person to conduct ethnographic fieldwork in Africa, where he lived among the Mende in Sierra Leone. Hofstra was also an advocate for animal welfare.

Early life and journalism Hofstra was born in Friesland in 1898, the second youngest of three siblings, to parents Pier Hofstra – a carpenter – and Janneke Visser. Prior to his academic career, Hofstra initially forayed into journalism, working for two Dutch local newspapers; the Hepkema's Courant/Nieuwsblad van Friesland (Dutch) and Nieuwsblad van het Noorden.

Study and work Hofstra at work in Panguma 1936. Pictured across from him is his informant Thomas C. Conteh. With the assistance of a benefactor, Hofstra studied psychology and sociology in Paris in 1924, moving to the University of Amsterdam from 1925 where he switched to social geography. He then continued his studies in Hamburg, Berlin and London, the latter saw him acquainted with Bronislaw Malinowski. He completed his doctorate at the University of Amsterdam under the tutelage of .

Hofstra became the first Dutch sociologist to conduct fieldwork in Africa when he traveled to Sierra Leone. In two visits from 1934 to 1936 he conducted ethnographic field work among the Mende people. After contracting blackwater fever, he was advised by medical professionals to cease his research. Despite preparations being undertaken to resume his research in Sierra Leone after the Second World War, these never materialised.

Hofstra was one of the founding figures of the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague in 1952, serving as its first director for two years. in Leiden and the Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam. His time in Sierra Leone is documented through his correspondence collected in the volume Among the Mende in Sierra Leone: the letters from Sjoerd Hofstra (1934-36), include: (pseudonym Johannes Hoving): Droom en daad. Enkele proza-zangen (poetry in Dutch, Dream and deed. Some prose songs). Amersfoort, S.D. Veen, 1919 Differenzierungserscheinungen in einigen afrikanischen Gruppen. Ein Beitrag zur Frage der primitiven Individualität (in German, Differentiation phenomena in some African groups. A contribution to the question of primitive individuality). Dissertation GU Amsterdam, 1933. The Social Aspects of Knowledge and Science. Amsterdam, Scheltema & Holkema, 1937 The Belief Among the Mendi in Non-Ancestral Spirits, and Its Relation to a Case of Parricide. Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie 40 (5–6): 175–183, 1942 De houding van den mensch tegenover de natuur (in Dutch, Man's attitude to nature). Arnhem, Van Loghum Slaterus, 1945. African Ethnology. Problems, Place and Meaning. Leiden, Brill, 1947 Over universiteit, Marcuse en rationaliteit (in Dutch, On University, Marcuse and Rationality). Farewell speech GU Amsterdam. Leiden, Brill, 1969 Enkele culturele en sociale Aspecten van een damverbinding met Ameland (in Dutch, Some Cultural and Social Aspects of a Dam Connection with Ameland). Mededelingen der Akademie van Wetenschappen, afd. Letterkunde. Nieuwe Reeks, XXXIII, nr. 3 (Amsterdam [etc.] 1970). Amsterdam Noord-Hollandse Uitg. Mij., 1970