Anthropology, Development and Modernities: Exploring Discourses, Counter-Tendencies and Violence

Arce, Alberto (Editor)/ Long, Norman (Editor)

ISBN 10: 0415204992 / ISBN 13: 9780415204996

Published by Routledge, 1999

About this Item

1st edition. 232 pages. 9.75x6.50x1.00 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-0415204992

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Anthropology, Development and Modernities: Exploring Discourses, Counter-Tendencies and Violence
• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0415204992
• ISBN 13: 9780415204996
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.61 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

While the diffusion of modernity and the spread of development schemes may bring prosperity, optimism and opportunity for some, for others it has brought poverty, a deterioration in quality of life and has given rise to violence. This collection brings an anthropological perspective to bear on understanding the diverse modernities we face in the contemporary world. It provides a critical review of interpretations of development and modernity, supported by rigorous case studies from regions as diverse as Guatemala, Sri Lanka, West Africa and contemporary Europe.
Together, the chapters in this volume demonstrate the crucial importance of looking to ethnography for guidance in shaping development policies. Ethnography can show how people's own agency transforms, recasts and complicates the modernities they experience. The contributors argue that explanations of change framed in terms of the dominantdiscourses and institutions of modernity are inadequate, and that we give closer attention to discourses, images, beliefs and practices that run counter to these yet play a part in shaping them and giving them meaning.
Anthropology, Development and Modernities deals with the realities of people's everyday lives and dilemmas. It is essential reading for students and scholars in anthropology, sociology and development studies. It should also be read by all those actively involved in development work.

About the Author

Alberto Arce and Norman Long are both based in the Department of Sociology at Wageningen University in the the Netherlands. Alberto Arce's research focuses on agricultural and environmental issues. Norman Long has developed an actor-oriented and interface approach to studying development and social change. Both have published widely.