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
Mechanisms
of
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”?
Cultural Change
Main Causes of Change
Environment
Individual variation (innovation)
Contact with other groups
• Diffusion
 Including Stimulus diffusion
•Acculturation . . .
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
All cultures change
Change can be
intentional or accidental
forward or backward looking
rapid or gradual
obvious or nearly invisible
Acculturation
Processes
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
Results
of
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
Cultural Change
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 “acrosstime” analysis since the 1970s
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 criticalthinking 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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