ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT: Understanding Contemporary Social Change

Book Details

• Author: Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan

• Publisher: Rawat Publications

• Language: English

• Edition: 2018

• ISBN: 9788131609538

• Pages: 252

• Cover: Hardcover

About the Book
This book aims to re-establish the significance of anthropological and sociological approaches to development processes, urging anthropology to recognize that the study of contemporary development must become one of its principal concerns. Professor Olivier de Sardan advocates for a socio-anthropology of change and development, which is deeply empirical and multidimensional, combining the study of social practices and consciousness. His approach envisions a political anthropology, a sociology of organizations, an economic anthropology, a sociology of networks, and an anthropology of beliefs and conceptions.

The book also encourages greater awareness between English- and French-speaking anthropologists and students of each other’s contributions to understanding development and social change. The Introduction delves into the emergence of new approaches in the 1990s, while Part I outlines the complexities of social change and development, demonstrating how socio-anthropology can address these challenges. Part II examines key variables involved in development processes, including relations of production, social action logics, popular knowledge, forms of mediation, and political strategies.

After its success in French, where it has been published in multiple editions, this influential work is expected to stimulate thoughtful debates within anthropology, sociology, and development studies. It is also an excellent advanced text for students in these fields.

Contents
• Introduction: The three approaches in the anthropology of development
• Socio-anthropology of development: Some preliminary statements
• Anthropology, sociology, Africa, and development: A brief historical overview
• A renewal of anthropology?
• Stereotypes, ideologies, and conceptions
• Is an anthropology of innovation possible?
• Developmentalist populism and social science populism: Ideology, action, knowledge
• Relations of production and modes of economic action
• Development projects and social logic
• Popular knowledge and scientific and technical knowledge
• Mediations and brokerage
• Arenas and strategic groups
• Conclusion: The dialogue between social scientists and developers

About the Author
Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan is a Professor of Anthropology at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Marseilles and a Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris. He holds dual nationality in France and Niger and has taught extensively in both French and African universities. His distinguished research career spans numerous projects, and he has authored several books in French, contributing to various scholarly journals and volumes. Additionally, he has published in English-language journals, including Africa, Current Anthropology, Critique of Anthropology, Visual Anthropology, and the Journal of Modern African Studies.