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ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT:Influence of Development Notions

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Introduction to Cultural Anthropology ­ SOC401
VU
Lesson 39
ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT
What is Development?
In the popular meaning of the term, development is a transition towards directed change, towards
modernization, industrialization and capitalization.
However, major development agencies and multilateral organizations often interpret development in terms
of poverty.
Poverty, defined in relation to the absence of basic services and in income terms (less than one dollar a day),
becomes a proxy for the absence of development, and a justification for intervention. Poverty and
development are measured by indicators and targets, some global, others national, which become standard
devices for undertaking development.
But even focusing on poverty does not necessarily imply that poor people are more involved in the
development planning process. Often the poor, cannot represent themselves, they are represented.
It has also been noticed by anthropologists that development is often defined in negative terms, not so
much as the presence of something as the elimination of an unacceptable state, like that of poverty.
Role of Anthropology in Development
Anthropological studies focus on the processes of social transformation, positive and negative,
conventionally associated with development.
Anthropology helps development initiatives realize the context in which their activities are to be introduced.
The cultural insights and the kinds of understandings that anthropology offers enables social development
professional to envision what kinds of impacts particular interventions may have on particular types of
social relations and institutions.
Comparing Development and Anthropology
Development approaches and methods have much common with anthropology, but there are also
substantial differences. What constitutes social development knowledge is determined by the need to meet
policy priorities rather than the pursuit of knowledge. Social development presents itself as a technical
discipline, using social analysis as a precondition for social transformation.
Like anthropological methods, development is people focused and uses qualitative techniques. But unlike
anthropological methods requiring extended fieldwork, social development methodologies are designed to
fit into short timeframes.
Who Undertakes Development?
Development Organizations include multilateral agencies like the World Bank and UN agencies, bilateral
agencies, national and international NGOs. Typical partner organizations include national governments,
national NGOs and the lower tier community based organizations.
Influence of Development Notions
The influence of development extends far beyond the formal institutions charged with implementing
development oriented programs. Cultural attitudes informed by development aspirations are entwined in
popular cultures of developed and developing countries. For e.g. rural communities in Nepal utilize the
category of `developed' (bikas) as a means of classifying people according to perceived class position and
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Introduction to Cultural Anthropology ­ SOC401
VU
social networks. Wealthy individuals in developed countries provide money for communities perceived as
`poor' via child sponsorship schemes for example.
Useful Terms
Social Development ­ the effort to meet basic needs and to assure access to basic human right
Entwined ­ joined or merged together
Perceived ­ considered or viewed
NGOs ­ Non government organizations
Suggested Readings based on Internet Resources
Students are advised to read the following paper (available in PDF format from the following web-site for
this lecture), which provides useful and interesting information:
Applying Anthropology in and to Development
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ss/applicationsofanthropology/greenpaper.htm
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Table of Contents:
  1. WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?:Cultural Anthropology, Internet Resources
  2. THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE AND THE APPLICATION OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
  3. MAJOR THEORIES IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Diffusionism
  4. GROWTH OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORY (continued):Post Modernism
  5. METHODS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Comments on Fieldwork
  6. METHODS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY (continued):Census Taking
  7. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD
  8. ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY (continued):THE DISTRIBUTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES
  9. FOCUSING ON LANGUAGE:Languages of the World, Structure of Language
  10. FOCUS ON LANGUAGE (continued):Levels of Complexity, Cultural Emphasis
  11. OBTAINING FOOD IN DIFFERENT CULTURES:Optimal Foraging, Suggested Readings
  12. FOOD AND CULTURE (continued):Food Collectors, Food Production
  13. OBTAINING FOOD IN DIFFERENT CULTURE (continued):Pastoralism, Agriculture
  14. RELEVANCE OF KINSHIP AND DESCENT:Kinship Criteria, Rules of Descent
  15. KINSHIP AND DESCENT (continued):Tracing Descent, Primary Kinship Systems
  16. THE ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE:Economic Aspect of Marriage
  17. ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE (continued):Family Structures
  18. GENDER AND CULTURE:Gender Stratification, Suggested Readings
  19. GENDER ROLES IN CULTURE (continued):Women Employment, Feminization of Poverty
  20. STRATIFICATION AND CULTURE:Social Ranking, Dimensions of Inequality
  21. THEORIES OF STRATIFICATION (continued):The Functionalists, Conflict Theorists
  22. CULTURE AND CHANGE:Inventions, Diffusion, Donor, Conventional
  23. CULTURE AND CHANGE (continued):Cultural Interrelations, Reaction to Change
  24. CULTURE AND CHANGE (continued):Planned Change, Globalization
  25. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION:Bands, Tribal Organizations, Chiefdoms
  26. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION (continued):State Systems, Nation-States
  27. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION (continued):Social Norms, Informal Mechanisms
  28. PSYCHOLOGY AND CULTURE:Emotional Development, Psychological Universals
  29. PSYCHOLOGY AND CULTURE (continued):Origin of Customs, Personality Types
  30. IDEOLOGY AND CULTURE:Ideology in Everyday Life, Hegemony
  31. IDEOLOGY AND CULTURE (Continued):Political ideologies, Economic Ideology
  32. ASSOCIATIONS, CULTURES AND SOCIETIES:Variation in Associations, Age Sets
  33. ASSOCIATIONS, CULTURES AND SOCIETIES (continued):Formation of Associations
  34. RACE, ETHNICITY AND CULTURE:Similarity in Human Adaptations
  35. RACE, ETHNICITY AND CULTURE (continued):Inter-group Relations
  36. CULTURE AND BELIEFS:Social Function of Religion, Politics and Beliefs
  37. LOCAL OR INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE:Changing Definitions of Local Knowledge
  38. LOCAL OR INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE (continued):The Need for Caution
  39. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT:Influence of Development Notions
  40. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT (Continued):Contentions in Development
  41. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT (Continued):Operational
  42. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND ART:Relevance of Art, Art and Politics
  43. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND ART (continued):Art as a Status Symbol
  44. ETHICS IN ANTHROPOLOGY:Ethical Condemnation, Orientalism
  45. RELEVANCE OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Ensuring Cultural Survival