On the tribal areas of Kerala; with special reference to the Thandan people.

Western aid is in decline. Non-traditional development actors from the developing countries and elsewhere are in the ascendant. A new set of global economic and political processes are shaping the twenty-first century. Anthropology and Development is a completely rewritten new edition of the best-selling Anthropology, Development and the Post-Modern Challenge (1996). Published to a set of excellent reviews and strong sales, it, along with the new book, serves as both an innovative reformulation of the field, and as a textbook for many undergraduate and graduate courses at leading universities in Europe and North America. For the new book, the authors Katy Gardner and David Lewis engage with nearly two decades of continuity and change in the development industry. In particular, they argue that while the world of international development has expanded since the 1990s, it has become more rigidly technocratic. Anthropology and Development therefore insists on a focus upon the core anthropological issues surrounding poverty and inequality, and thus sharply criticises the contemporary perceived problems in the field.

'A well-crafted, sensitive, reflective and constructive book. It is highly recommended.' --Development Policy Review

Papers, mostly presented at an International seminar on Indian Anthropology, Ranchi, India, 1971.

A single seed is more than just the promise of a plant. In rural south India, seeds represent diverging paths toward a sustainable livelihood. Development programs and global agribusiness promote genetically modified seeds and organic certification as a path toward more sustainable cotton production, but these solutions mask a complex web of economic, social, political, and ecological issues that may have consequences as dire as death. In Cultivating Knowledge anthropologist Andrew Flachs shows how rural farmers come to plant genetically modified or certified organic cotton, sometimes during moments of agrarian crisis. Interweaving ethnographic detail, discussions of ecological knowledge, and deep history, Flachs uncovers the unintended consequences of new technologies, which offer great benefits to some—but at others’ expense. Flachs shows that farmers do not make simple cost-benefit analyses when evaluating new technologies and options. Their evaluation of development is a complex and shifting calculation of social meaning, performance, economics, and personal aspiration. Only by understanding this complicated nexus can we begin to understand sustainable agriculture. By comparing the experiences of farmers engaged with these mutually exclusive visions for the future of agriculture, Cultivating Knowledge investigates the human responses to global agrarian change. It illuminates the local impact of global changes: the slow, persistent dangers of pesticides, inequalities in rural life, the aspirations of people who grow fibers sent around the world, the place of ecological knowledge in modern agriculture, and even the complex threat of suicide. It all begins with a seed.

Applied Anthropology: Domains of Application, edited by Satish Kedia and John van Willigen, comprises essays by prominent scholars on the potential, accomplishments, and methods of applied anthropology. Domains covered in the volume include development, agriculture, environment, health and medicine, nutrition, population displacement and resettlement, business and industry, education, and aging. The contributors demonstrate in compelling ways how anthropological knowledge, skills, and methodologies can be put to work in addressing social, economic, health, and technical problems facing societies today. With their genuine commitment to protecting the diversity and vitality of human communities, applied anthropologists working in real-life settings have and will continue to have a lasting impact on people around the world. The editors enrich the volume by providing introductory and concluding chapters that offer a detailed historical context for applied anthropology and an exploration of its future directions.