Anthropological Perspectives on Development: Insights from Africa
13 May 2020

Anthropological Perspectives on Development: Insights from Africa

by | posted in: Development Studies, Lectures | 0

In this lecture, I examine some of the theoretical models that have dominated the anthropological debates on development. In the course of this exploration, we will demonstrate the privileged insights that anthropological approaches can bring to bear on our understanding of culture and the human quest for peace. Three key theoretical approaches are examined – namely, modernization, dependency theory and post-development. I discuss the basic tenets of each of the models and provide brief critiques, substantiating them with ethnographic examples from Africa, including my own fieldwork in Cameroon.

The Cultural Diffusion and Analysis of a Symbol Complex
11 May 2020

The Cultural Diffusion and Analysis of a Symbol Complex

by | posted in: Anthropology of Religion, Book Reviews, Cameroon Studies, Grassfields Studies, Political Anthropology | 1

In his book, Lela in Bali: History through Ceremony in Cameroon (2006), anthropologist, Richard Fardon contends that Lela could be understood as a “barometer of the state of play in Bali politics: a ceremony that has adjusted to reflect the changing composition and external relations of the community” (2, italics mine). To extend this argument, it’s absence over several consecutive years could also index the state of politics – one that shows the growing dissonance between the ruled and the rulers.