The Dynamics of Culture Change: An Inquiry Into Race Relations in Africa (Classic Reprint)

There is little need for me to recapitulate here the achievements of MaH nowski in the field of anthropology, the contributions which he made to it in knowledge, in methods of research, and in theory. His longest and most intensive period of field work was done in the Trobriand Islands during World War I and, although he wrote many detailed monographs on specific aspects ofT robriand culture, it was typical of the breadth of his scientific approach that he proceeded to develop the wider theoretical implications of his research in kinship, magic, religion, education, economics, and law. Moreover, in the process he formulated what has been called his functional theory of culture, and he constantly refined the techniques for its study. His seminars at theL ondon School of Economics were unique, not only because they were attended by administrative officials, missionaries, and specialists in anthropology and allied subjects, but also because he had his own particular methods of instruction. For the exposition of his theories he devised and used a series of charts or tables which permitted of a synoptic analysis of all aspects of culture. They contained certain guiding principles and a condensed set of instructions for the fieldworker; and they compelled him to make as exhaustive a survey as possible of the community which he was sent out to study. They also constituted a scheme for the presentation and examination of data, a means by which his own theories and those of others could be tested, gaps in information revealed, and new avenues for research suggested. As an anthropologist who was truly international in his thinking MaH- nowski realized the importance of anthropology not only for the study of primitive peoples but also for an understanding of European andO riental societies; and in his later years he devoted more and more of his energies to writing on w
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)