Representing Africa: Colonial Anthropology Revisited

Abstract

There are suggestions in the recent literature that since professional anthropology grew enormously during the colonial period, anthropologists of the time implicitly advanced the interests of colonial production and hegemony. A careful examination of relevant sources results in a contrary interpretation. In the course of demonstrating the mythical existence of “colonial anthropology,” this paper also raises questions about the present anthropological engagement with “development” wherein anthropologists are explicitly advancing the aims and interests of capitalistic transformation.