Anthropology And Colonialism Essay

Particularly in Africa, it is true or imagined connections between anthropology and Colonialism have often led to a deep suspicion of the achievements of anthropological endeavor. It is important to consider how far this argument is justified, and more generally whether anthropology has a role to play in Africa today. It will, therefore, be argued that anthropology has on the whole contributed to the development of the more positive kinds of images of Africa and that the contribution of this particular intellectual tradition remains important.

As depicted by Tala Asad, Res Ipsa et al, that anthropology is implicit and deeply implicated, even imbricated in European colonialism. Therefore, anthropology provides the underlying discourse of racial

For example, the role of a stranger in the society with its resultant practical professional exploitation of subject matter can be seen as an academic manifestation of colonialism. Some of the biases exhibited in this role are examined. With the liberation of earlier colonized peoples, the traditional function of the anthropologist has been undermined. This has resulted in differences between anthropologists and many of the people they formerly studied. The postcolonial era focuses on the new roles for anthropologist and clear methodological concepts considered. In providing alternatives to this study ‘native ethnography ‘is given priority. The European native ethnography and the insights emerging from current educational technology among third world people in Africa. Therefore in this context, the merits of ‘native anthropology’ are viewed as one possible alternative.

The significance of anthropology as a tool in Western man’s search for self-understanding was a prudent methodological assumption that the study of ‘primitive man’ would only take place from the westerner point or outsider. This is the scientific culture seen from outside as asserted by Levi-Strauss