Anthropology and Colonialism

Abstract

Anthropology emerged from the colonial expansion of Europe. Colonialism structured the relationship between anthropologists and the people they studied and had an effect on methodological and conceptual formulations in the discipline. For example, the role of "objective outsider" with its resultant professional exploitation of subject matter can be viewed as an academic manifestation of colonialism. Some of the biases inherent in this role are examinated. With the liberation of formerly colonized peoples, the traditional role of the anthropologist has been undermined. This has resulted in an impasse between anthropologists and many of the people they formerly studied. The postcolonial era clearly calls for new roles for anthropologists and a more relevant set of methodologies and concepts. In the search for alternatives, consideration is given to the "native ethnography" of Europe and the insights springing from current educational innovations among Third World people in the United States. In this context, the advantages of a "native anthropology" are examined as one possible alternative.

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