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Development Anthropology
Cultural Change
Development Anthropology
How cultures change
How anthropologists can inform and transform the process of international development
International Development
A process of directed change that focuses on improving the welfare of people in so-called underdeveloped countries
Often through promoting economic growth
Mechanismsof
Cultural Change
Mechanisms of Change
Invention
Diffusion
Including “stimulus diffusion”
Migration
Devolution (cultural loss)
Mechanisms of Change
Invention
The creation of something new
“primary”
•discovery of new principles
“secondary”
•application of principles
Often associated with rapid change
Inventions
Not all inventions have positive social outcomes
Cultural anthropologists have made significant contributions to improving development by telling stories of the “victims” of change
Mechanisms of Change
Diffusion
The spread of something from one group to the next
Borrowing
Often associated with slow change
Including stimulus diffusion . . .
Mechanisms of Change
Stimulus Diffusion
The spread of an idea from one group to the next
Diffusion
Can occur between unequal societies
through force
through education or marketing
Diffusion
A culture can become so completely acculturated that it becomes assimilated
Mechanisms of Change
Migration
The movement of a person or people from one place to another
Mechanisms of Change
Devolution (cultural loss)
Loss without replacement of a cultural trait
Can be slow or rapid
“Modernization”
A model of change based on the belief in the inevitable advance of science and Western secularism and processes
• including industrial growth, consolidation of the state, bureaucratization, market economy, technological innovation, literacy, and options for social mobility
“Modernization”=
“Globalization”?
Main Causes of Change
Environment
Individual variation (innovation)
Contact with other groups
• Diffusion Including Stimulus diffusion
•Acculturation . . .
Cultural Change
Acculturation
Change that takes place as a result of
firsthand
continuous contact
between two or more groups
Acculturation
Is usually rapid change, but it varies . . .
Acculturation
It varies with
Degree of cultural difference
Circumstances of contact
Intensity of contact . . .
Acculturation
It varies with
Frequency of contact
Amiability of contact . . .
Acculturation
It varies with
Relative status of agents of contact
Who is dominant and who is submissive . . .
Acculturation
It varies with
Whether the nature of flow is reciprocal or nonreciprocal
Change can be
intentional or accidental
forward or backward looking
rapid or gradual
obvious or nearly invisible
All cultures change
AcculturationProcesses
Acculturation
Processes during acculturation include:
Substitution
• Replacing one cultural item with another
• Minimal structural change
• E.g., Dani substitution of competitive games and events for warfare
Acculturation
Processes during acculturation include:
Syncretism
• A blending of cultural elements
• Considerable cultural change
• E.g., Mayan “Folk Catholicism”
• E.g., Trobriand Cricket
Acculturation
Processes during acculturation include:
Addition
•Cultural items are added
•Structural change may or may not occur
•E.g., Yanomamö bananas
Acculturation
Processes during acculturation include:
Deculturation (devolution)
•The loss of part of a culture
•E.g., headhunting among the Asmat of New Guinea
Acculturation
Processes during acculturation include:
Origination
•Development of new traits to meet the needs of a changing situation
•E.g., Amish self-isolation
Acculturation
Processes during acculturation include:
Rejection
• Changes may be so rapid that a large number of persons cannot accept them, resulting in total rejection, rebellion, or revitalization movements
• E.g., The Ghost Dance Movement
Resultsof
Acculturation
Acculturation
Results of Acculturation:
Assimilation (merger)
• One culture becomes completely merged into another and no longer has a separate identity
• often occurs with a loss of language
Acculturation
Results of Acculturation:
Incorporation
•One culture loses autonomy but retains its identity as a subculture
•Typical of conquest or slavery situations
•E.g., Cast in India•E.g., American Irish, Cajun, Gullah
Acculturation
Results of Acculturation:
Extinction
• One culture loses its individual members until it can no longer function, and members die out or join other cultures
• The Shakers may become an example of extinction
Acculturation
Results of Acculturation:
Adaptation
• A new structure may develop in “dynamic equilibrium”
• Cultures make adjustments to enhance their survival
• E.g., Amish self-isolation
Misc. Notes
Early cultural anthropologists took a “synchronic” or “one-time” view in describing a culture with no attention to its past
More focus on “diachronic” or “across-time” analysis since the 1970s
Cultural Change
Cultural Change
Now studies are diachronic
the analysis of cultures “across time”
(Synchronic = A “one-time” view of culture with minimal or no attention paid to its past)
Cultural Change
Rates of change vary
Change is inevitable
Cultural Change
Traditional Development Anthropology
an approach to development in which the anthropologist accepts the role of helping to make development work better by providing cultural information to planners
an option that economists and others realize can help make their plans more effective
“What can I do to make this project successful?”
Cultural Change
Critical Development Anthropology
an approach to international development in which the anthropologist takes on a critical-thinking role and asks why and to whose benefit particular development policies and programs are pursued
developed out of the awareness of the socially negative impact of many supposedly positive development projects
“Is this a good project from the perspective of the target population?”
Cultural Change
Human Development
a model of change promoted by the United Nations that emphasizes improvements in human welfare such as health, education, and personal security
improvements in human welfare will lead to overall development of the nation
Cultural Change
Sustainable Development
a directed change that involves forms of development that are not environmentally destructive and are financially supportable by the host country or environmentally by the earth as a whole
Cultural Change
Sociocultural fit
concept that refers to how well a development project meshes with the “target” culture and population
Cultural Change
Indigenous People
people who consider themselves the original inhabitants of the territories they occupy
“First Peoples”
most often have lost or are losing their claim to ancestral lands
Cultural Change
Indigenous People
the United Nations distinguishes between
• indigenous people
original inhabitants of the territories they occupy
•and minority groups
E.g., Rom (Gypsies)
Indigenous People’s Development
Indigenous people have been subjected to loss of rights, land and culture they once had
Through indigenous claims and pressure, some states have begun to resolve land issues
Indigenous People’s Development
Many indigenous people have formed their own organizations to promote “development from within”
Human Rights
Cultural anthropologists contribute insight from different cultures about perceptions of basic human rights and may be able to prevent human rights abuses in the future
www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth4616/cpweek13.html#title
People live in
Multiple Cultural Worlds
Multiple Cultural Worlds
class
race
ethnicity
sex/gender
age
institutions
www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth4616/cpweek13.html#title
www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth4616/cpweek15.html#title
www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth4616/cpweek15.html#title
www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth4616/cpweek15.html#title
