ZeePedia

CULTURE AND CHANGE (continued):Planned Change, Globalization

<< CULTURE AND CHANGE (continued):Cultural Interrelations, Reaction to Change
POLITICAL ORGANIZATION:Bands, Tribal Organizations, Chiefdoms >>
img
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology ­ SOC401
VU
Lesson 24
CULTURE AND CHANGE (continued)
The Complex Process of Change
Accepting change in one part of a culture is likely to bring about changes to other parts of a culture. To
understand socio-cultural aspects of urbanization, it is important to view the rural area, the urban areas, and
the people who move between them as parts of a complex system of change.
Until some decades ago, anthropologists made differentiations between the mechanical solidarity of rural
areas and the organic solidarity of cities. Recent research notes that there is not a simple flow of migrants
from rural areas to urban areas but rather a circulation of people between these areas.
Urbanization or the process of rural development therefore needs to take into account the fact that there is
a constant criss-crossing of people, ideas and resources from urban to rural areas.
Rural migrants rely on kinsmen for land purchase, dispute resolution or general household management,
while they go to the cities in search for cash based employment. Conversely rural kinsmen may in turn
obtain economic support from a urban wage earner, or seek his support in finding work or a place to stay in
the city for other kinsmen.
Planned Change
Planned programs of change have been introduced into developing countries for decades under the
assumption that they benefit the local people. Yet, a number of studies have shown that although some
segments of the local population may benefit, many more do not.
Globalization
Globalization is a broad-based term which is used to describe the intensification of the flow of money,
goods, and information across the world, which is seen to be taking place since the 1980s. Globalization has
made the study of culture change more complex due to its varied effects on various cultural processes
including that of change.
In some cases, globalization is responsible for an accelerated pace of change in world cultures. In other
situations, the forces of globalization may stimulate traditional cultures to redefine themselves. Developing
countries in the attempt to better deal with the forces of globalization, such as trade liberalization, have
begun to revamp their own economic systems in order to make them more competitive internationally. This
economic revamping has tremendous cultural impacts as well.
Globalization has resulted in diffusion of technology but also compounded existing inequalities. There are
human and environmental costs associated with globalization.
For example, increased productivity has led to pollution and there are many theorists who argue that
globalization has also increased the gap between the rich and the poor, with those with wealth doing even
better and those without it, experiencing even worse poverty than before.
Useful Terms
Globalization: intensification of the flow of money, goods, and information across the world
Urbanization: the process of people moving from rural areas into the cities. This phenomenon is taking
place in both developed and developing countries and cultural anthropologists are very interested in
studying why and how urbanization takes place and the cultural changes it brings
Revamping: reforming or changing
Competitive: the process of trying to do better than those engaging in the same activity
54
img
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology ­ SOC401
VU
Environmental Costs: the impact of a particular activity on land, water or air and on various other species
which inhabit the Earth alongside human beings
Impacts: results or effects
Suggested Readings
Students are advised to read the following chapters to develop a better understanding of the various
principals highlighted in this hand-out:
Chapter 16 in `Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective' by Ferrarro and/or Chapter 13 in `Anthropology' by
Ember and Pergrine
Internet Resources
In addition to reading from the textbook, please visit the following web-site for this lecture, which provide
useful and interesting information:
Culture Change2
http://anthro.palomar.edu/change/default.htm
2
Please follow hyperlink on the website to read about global change
55
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