Hari Mohan Mathur presents an account of how anthropology, long relegated to the background by economists, is beginning to have an effect on development matters, especially in developing counties where rural and tribal people are the dominant groups.

This book re-establishes the relevance of mainstream anthropological (and sociological) approaches to development processes and simultaneously recognizes that contemporary development ought to be anthropology‘s principal area of study. Professor de Sardan argues for a socio-anthropology of change and development that is a deeply empirical, multidimensional, diachronic study of social groups and their interactions. The Introduction provides a thought-provoking examination of the principal new approaches that have emerged in the discipline during the 1990s. Part I then makes clear the complexity of social change and development, and the ways in which socio-anthropology can measure up to the challenge of this complexity. Part II looks more closely at some of the leading variables involved in the development process, including relations of production; the logics of social action; the nature of knowledge; forms of mediation; and ‘political‘ strategies.

Over the last two decades, anthropological studies have highlighted the problems of ‘development’ as a discursive regime, arguing that such initiatives are paradoxically used to consolidate inequality and perpetuate poverty. This volume constitutes a timely intervention in anthropological debates about development, moving beyond the critical stance to focus on development as a mode of engagement that, like anthropology, attempts to understand, represent and work within a complex world. By setting out to elucidate both the similarities and differences between these epistemological endeavors, the book demonstrates how the ethnographic study of development challenges anthropology to rethink its own assumptions and methods. In particular, contributors focus on the important but often overlooked relationship between acting and understanding, in ways that speak to debates about the role of anthropologists and academics in the wider world. The case studies presented are from a diverse range of geographical and ethnographic contexts, from Melanesia to Africa and Latin America, and ethnographic research is combined with commentary and reflection from the foremost scholars in the field.

In an historical account of the growth and development of the field of cognitive anthropology, Roy D'Andrade examines how cultural knowledge is organised within and between human minds. He begins by examining the research carried out during the l950s and l960s which was concerned with how different cultures classify kinship relationships and the natural environment, and then traces the development of more complex and sophisticated cognitive theories of classification in anthropology which took place in the l970s and l980s. In an analysis of more recent developments, the author considers work involving cultural models, emotion, motivation and action. He concludes with a summary of the theoretical perspective of cognitive anthropology.

Anthropology for Development: From Theory to Practice connects cross-cultural social theory with the concerns of development policy and practice. It introduces the reader to a set of key ideas from the field of anthropology of development, and shows how these insights can be applied to solve real-world development dilemmas. This single, accessibly written volume clearly explains key concepts from anthropology and draws them into a framework to address some of the important challenges facing development policy and practice in the twenty-first century: poverty, participation, sustainability and innovation. It discusses classic critical and ethnographic texts and more recent anthropological work, using rich case studies across a range of country contexts to provide an introduction to the field not available elsewhere. The examples presented are designed to help development professionals reframe their practice with attention to social and cultural variables as well as understand why mainstream approaches to reducing poverty, raising productivity, delivering social services and grappling with environmental risks often fail. This book will prove invaluable to undergraduate and postgraduate students who are professionals-in-training in development studies programs around the world. It will also help development professionals work effectively and inclusively across cultures, tap into previously invisible resources, and turn current development challenges into opportunities.

Some of the most prominent social and cultural anthropologists have come together in this volume to discuss Maurice Godelier's work. They explore and revisit some of the highly complex practices and structures social scientists encounter in their fieldwork. From the nature-culture debate to the fabrication of hereditary political systems, from transforming gender relations to the problems of the Christianization of indigenous peoples, these chapters demonstrate both the diversity of anthropological topics and the opportunity for constructive dialogue around shared methodological and theoretical models.