ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL CHANGE

THIS BOOK ASSERTS THE RELEVANCE OF MAINSTREAM ANTHROPOLOGY TO DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES AND RECOGNIZES THAT CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE ANTHROPOLOGY'S PRINCIPAL AREA OF STUDY. IT ARGUES FOR A SOCIO-ANTHROPOLOGY OF CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT THAT IS A DEEPLY EMPIRICAL, MULTIDIMENSIONAL, DIACHRONIC STUDY OF SOCIAL GROUPS AND THEIR INTERACTIONS. IT PROVIDES A THOUGHT-PROVOKING EXAMINATION OF THE NEW APPROACHES THAT HAVE EMERGED IN ANTHROPOLOGY SINCE THE 1990S. IT ASSESSES THE COMPLEXITY OF SOCIAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT, AND HOW SOCIO-ANTHROPOLOGY CAN TACKLE THIS COMPLEXITY. IT EXAMINES SOME OF THE KEY VARIABLES IN THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, INCLUDING RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION; THE LOGICS OF SOCIAL ACTION; THE NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE; FORMS OF MEDIATION; AND 'POLITICAL' STRATEGIES. MUCH OF THE EMPIRICAL MATERIAL IS DRAWN FROM AFRICA.