Breaking the Frames

CHAPTER 9

Against -Isms

AbstractStereotypical histories of anthropology tend to revolve around a
succession of theoretical stances described as‘-isms’, for example, evolu-
tionism, diffusionism, structural-functionalism, structuralism, transaction-
alism, processualism, etc. Labeling history in this way reveals a tendency to
essentialize shifts and schools of thought.‘Neoliberalism’is another,
recent, term. Viewpoints presented in this vein are promulgated by net-
works of power and influences in academia. The process of struggle against
such networks is found in the early career difficulties of Fredrik Barth, who
was later able to draw productively on American and British traditions of
analysis, refusing to join bandwagons, and insisting on meeting the chal-
lenges eachfield area presented. He followed what can also be advocated
generally, the aim of bringing theory and description appropriately
together, as he did inEthnic Groups and Boundaries.

KeywordsAcademia
Essentialization
Field experience
Fredrik Barth

Neoliberalism
Stereotypes

The history of anthropology is replete with the rise and fall of different
schools of thought, usually emerging out of the ideas of one dominant
personage or in retrospect attributed to that personage. With a rise in the
popularity and prestige of a particular approach, more grant money and
more teaching positions, and in step with these two trends more

© The Author(s) 2017
P.J. Stewart, A.J. Strathern,Breaking the Frames,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-47127-3_9

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