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Development Anthropology

Overview Introduction

In the mid-1970's following Neo-Marxist critiques of underdevelopment, the new sub-field of "development anthropology" emerged. This sub-field is not particularly well defined, as development anthropologists do not necessarily share a coherent theoretical framework, set of concepts, or methods, but rather are joined by their engagement with development issues, projects, and policies. Development anthropology constitutes research by anthropologists, both those in academia and those working for development institutions, whose aim is to use anthropology to improve not only the theory and practice of development, but also the quality of life of people around the world. There has been much debate over whether development anthropology "merits" recognition as a legitimate academic sub-field (Escobar 1991, Green 1986).

The emergence of "development anthropology" and with it a closer collaboration of anthropologists with development stemmed from a number of factors. On the one hand, capital-intensive, top-down, mainstream development interventions were failing and development institutions were redirecting their emphasis from the cities to the rural poor. New policies focused on the participation of the poor and on the social analysis/assessment of development projects carved out a niche oriented toward the skills of anthropologists. On the other hand, it was argued that the rise of political economy and Marxism in anthropology made the discipline better able to engage with issues of development than could the relativism and functionalism of an earlier anthropology. In particular, anthropologists were showing growing concern with the integration of local communities into larger political and economic spheres. A further contributing factor was the lack of employment in academic anthropology at the time and the concurrent higher demand for anthropologists to engage in applied work.

Development anthropology today is taught at a number of universities. A large literature has developed on the role and contribution of anthropological approaches to development. Particularly in the 1980's much attention focused on the scope and nature, as well as the future of the sub-discipline (Bennet and Bowen 1988, Green 1986, Grillo 1985, Hoben 1982, Horowitz and Painter 1986, Jansen 1989, Schneider 1988, Scudder 1988, Skar 1985, Swantz 1985, Wulff and Friske 1987, among others). The problematic relationship between anthropology and development (the moral dilemma) runs through most of this literature. More recently, scholars of a "post-structuralist" persuasion (See section on Anthropological critiques of development) have brought forth critiques of the development anthropology sub-field, accusing it of failing to react to changes in anthropology and of upholding the tenets of modernization and development discourse. For many of these scholars the future of anthropology and development lies in a disengagement from development institutions and a fostering of critical "institutional" ethnographies on dominant development models and practices. This critique has been linked to what is sometimes referred to as "post-development" (for exmple, see Rahnema and Bawtree reader), the idea that development has failed, to be replaced by new priorities.

Despite this strong movement in anthropology, many development anthropologists continue to make a case for an involved anthropology. While they recognize the importance of institutional ethnographic critique, they argue that critique has often overlooked the positive contributions that development anthropology has made. Many argue that development anthropology has been engaged in systematic critique of the development process, the analysis of destructive or potentially destructive interventions, the exposure of the internal complexities and socioeconomic differentials of people/groups, and in continuous questioning of the processes, assumptions, and agencies of development. Gardner and Lewis, in their book Anthropology, Development, and the Post-Modern Challenge (1996), envision anthropology's positive role in the post-development challenge as one which can subvert development discourse and practice from within.

Selected References on Applied Anthropology/Development Anthropology

Applied Anthropology: Pre-1970

Arensberg, Conrad. 1964. Introducing social change: A manual for Americans overseas. Chicago, IL: Aldine.

Geertz, Clifford. 1963. Agricultural involution: The process of ecological change in Indonesia. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Goodenough, Ward. 1963. Cooperation and change: An anthropological approach to community Development. New York: Sage.

Malinowski, Broonislaw. 1929. "Practical anthropology" Africa 2(1): 28-38.

Mead, Margaret. 1953. Cultural patterns and technical change. Paris: UNESCO.

Spicer, Edward H. 1952. Human problems in technological change: A casebook. New York: Sage.

Counter-Insurgency Work by Anthropologists

Horowitz, Irving. Ed. 1967. The rise and fall of project Camelot: Studies in the relationship between social science and practical politics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Wakin, Eric. 1992. Anthropology goes to war: Professional ethics and counterinsurgency in Thailand. Madison: University of Wisconsin, Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Hickey, Gerald C. 1982. Free in the forest: Ethnohistory of the Vietnamese Central Highlands, 1954-1976. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Selections from Development Anthropology: Post 1970

Barlett, Peggy F. 1980. Agricultural decision making: Anthropological contributions to rural development. New York: Academic Press.

Belshaw, Cyril S. 1976. The sorcerer's apprentice: An anthropology of public policy. New York: Pergamon Press.

Bennet, John, and John Bowen. Eds. 1988. Production and autonomy: Anthropological studies and critiques of development. Lanham, MD: University Press of America/Society for Economic Anthropology.

Brokensha, David, and Peter Little. Eds. 1988. Anthropology of development and change in East Africa. Boulder CO: Westview.

Cernea, Michael. 1994. Resettlement and development: The Bankwide review of projects involving involuntary resettlement, 1986-1993. Washington D.C.: World Bank.

Cochrane, Glynn. 1971. Development anthropology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Cochrane, Glynn. 1977. What we can do for each other: An interdisciplinary approach to development anthropology. Amsterdam: BR Gruener.

Derman, William and Scott Whiteford. Eds. 1985. Social impact analysis and development planning in the Third World. Boulder, CO: Westview.

Gardner, Katy, and David Lewis. 1996. Anthropology, development and the postmodern challenge. London, Chicago IL: Pluto Press.

Green, Edward C. Ed. 1986. Practicing development anthropology. Boulder, CO: Westview.

Grillo, Ralph, and Alan Rew. Eds. 1985. Social anthropology and development policy. London: Tavistock.

Hart, Keith 1982. The political economy of West African agriculture. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.

Horowitz, Michael. 1987. "Anthropology and the new development agenda" Development Anthropology Network 6(1): 1-4.

Horowitz, Michael. 1989. "Victims of development" Development Anthropology Network 7(2): 1-8.

Horowitz, Michael. 1990. "Donors and deserts: The political ecology of destructive development in the Sahel." In African Food Systems in Crisis, part 2, Contending with Change. R. Huss-Ashmore and S.H. Katz. Eds. New York: Gordon and Beach.

Jansen, William II. 1989. "Future directions of development anthropology" Anthropology Newsletter 30(7): 36,27,31.

Little, Peter D., and Michael Horowitz. Eds. 1987. Lands at risk in the Third World: Local-level perspectives. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Mathur, Hari Mohan. Ed. 1990. The human dimension of development: Perspectives from anthropology. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Co.

Moran, Emilio F. Ed. 1996. Transforming societies, transforming anthropology. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Nolan, Riall W. 2002. Development anthropology: Encounters in the real world. Boulder, CO.: Westview Press.

Phillips, S. 1994. "Anthropology of development: How current theory can inform social development practice" Social Development Newsletter 2.

Pottier, Johan. Ed. 1993. Practicing development: Social science perspectives. London; New York: Routledge.

Rosaldo, Renato. 1989. Culture and truth: The remaking of social analysis. Boston: Beacon Press.

Skar, Harald O. Ed. 1985. Anthropological contributions to planned change and development. Göteborg, Sweden: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.

Wull, Robert. M, and Shirley J. Fiske. Eds. 1987. Anthropological praxis: Translating knowledge into Action. Boulder, Co: Westview.

General Applied Anthropology Texts

Chambers, Erve. 1989. Applied anthropology: A practical guide. Mt. Prospect, Ill.: Waveland Press.

Ervin, A.M. 2000. Applied anthropology: Tools and perspectives for contemporary practice. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

McDonald, James H. Ed. 2002. The applied anthropology reader. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Podolefsky, Aaron, and Peter J. Brown. 1989. Applying anthropology: An introductory reader. Mountain View, Calif.: Mayfield Pub. Co.

Trotter, Robert T II. 1988. Anthropology for tomorrow: Creating practitioner-oriented applied anthropology programs. Washington D.C.: American Anthropological Association.

Van Willigen, John, Barbara Rylko-Bauer, and Ann McElroy. 1989. Making our research useful: Case studies in the utilization of anthropological knowledge. Boulder, Co: Westview.

Van Willigen, John. 1991. Anthropology in use: A source book on anthropological practice. Boulder, CO: Westview.

Web Resources in Applied Anthropology/Development Anthropology

SFAA: The Society for Applied Anthropology
http://www.sfaa.net/

NAPA: The National Association for the Practice of Anthropology:
http://www.aaanet.org/napa/

Institute for Development Anthropology
http://www.developmentanthropology.org/

BARA: The Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology
http://bara.arizona.edu/overview.htm

LPO's: Local Practitioner Organizations (listed)
http://www.napabulletin.org/bulletin6.htm

ANTHAP (The Applied Anthropology Computer Network).
http://www.oakland.edu/~dow/anthap.htm