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ISSN 2084–1418
The paper edition of the Anthropology of History Yearbook is the definitive version

2018, No. (11), Cultural History of Knowledge

Jacek Jan Pawlik
Georges Balandier and problem of historicity in cultural anthropology

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Keywords: history, tradition, dynamic anthropology, Georges Balandier

Abstract:
The article presents a historical perspective that underlined the dynamic anthropology of Georges Balandier, a French sociologist, anthropologist and Africanist. Pointing to the inspirations of work of E.E. Evans-Pritchard and the Manchester School on Balandier, the author stresses the lack of greater cooperation between the British and French anthropology. The Annales School, and in particular the theoretical work of Georges Gurvitch, exerted a significant influence on Balandier's concepts. Connections with the latter influenced Balandier's radical cut-off from the concept of Claude Lévi-Strauss. Balandier's exploratory approach allowed for capturing the historical dynamics guiding social and cultural phenomena. By showing the relationship between tradition and modernity, he questioned ahistorical ethnology. Although he was not a historian, his work became an inspiration for the history of Africa emerging on French soil.

About Author:
JACEK JAN PAWLIK - a missionary, ethnologist, Africanist, Fr. professor at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. E-mail: jacek.pawlik@uwm.edu.pl. ORCID 0000-0003-2142-9976.
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