Functionalism and cultural relativism: The case of applied anthropology

Authors

  • Eloy Gómez Pellón Universidad de Cantabria (España)

Abstract

The difficult separation between an applicable Anthropology and an applied one has inhibited the debate on the precise moment of the emergent of the last. The colonial context of the indirect rule, linked to a functionalist-oriented Anthropology, seems to be the key of the beginning of a practical Anthropology in the United Kingdom during the twenties in the last century, taking advantage of the institutional framework offered by the International Institute
of African Languages and Cultures (1926). In the United States, the policy of the New Deal in its aboriginal version, and the existence of institutions like the Office of Indian Affairs, in
a relativist atmosphere, both possibly created after 1933 the conditions for the emergence of Applied Anthropology, later reinforced by the Society for Applied Anthropology (1941).
However, after World War II, first in the United Kingdom and then in the United States, practical or applied Anthropology declines, finally falling into crisis.

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Published

2014-11-09

Issue

Section

General

How to Cite

Gómez Pellón, E. (2014). Functionalism and cultural relativism: The case of applied anthropology. Antropología Experimental, 12. https://revistaselectronicas.ujaen.es/index.php/rae/article/view/1870