Development Anthropology Cultural Change. Development Anthropology How cultures change How anthropologists can inform and transform the process of international.

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

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People live in

Multiple Cultural Worlds

Multiple Cultural Worlds

class

race

ethnicity

sex/gender

age

institutions

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