Critically discuss the centrality of anthropology to colonial Essay

Critically discuss the centrality of anthropology to colonial domination of africa through the lens of a positivists and imperialist approach to domination, rather than a critical and dialectical - Essay Example Imperialism and colonialism have been used interchangeably in defining the relationship between Africa and Britain. Brtisch Empire occupied many territories in Africa (Erickson & Murphy, 2008). European Colonial rule in Africa spans from the late 1800s up till the Second World War. Since the advent of the Europeans in Africa, anthropology has largely been seen from the perspective of the outsiders and the view that the colonial power was projecting across. Therefore, anthropology in Africa could not flourish to its complete entirety. In fact, anthropology in Africa greatly suffered as a result of the domination of the imperial powers. When anthropology of different cultures was started being studied in the late 1800s, Africa’s contribution to the economic system was not considered and therefore it remained largely untouched by anthropologists for a long period of time. There were no anthropological researches conducted in Africa up till the Second World War. When anthropologis ts started conducting cultural studies in Africa, there methods were largely criticized at not being reliable and comprehensive enough. Thus, anthropology in Africa could not receive its due share of research. The development of anthropology in Africa during the Colonial rule was also undermined due to the image projected by the colonizers abroad. European contact was taken as a representation of Africa (Wehrs, 2008). Child pornography and the publicity of the extremely dire economic circumstances the African community was afflicted with, like poverty, lack of infrastructure etc. had an adverse effect on anthropological studies. Another reason that influenced the development of anthropology in Africa is due to the projection by the Europeans about the illiteracy and savagery of the Africans. Post-colonial rehabilitation of anthropology hence becomes difficult. This is partly because Africa still remains undeveloped and can not debunk the stigmatized