Publisher's Synopsis
From the post-world War II decolonization to about mid-1980s, mainstream development thinking has focussed on 'economics', on the one-dimensional abstraction of homo economicus, to the exclusion of all else: specially the socio-cultural context in which development might take place. This divorce of 'development' from 'culture', however, was "poor economics" --a hard fact, which the international community has come to discover gradually, experientially. The United Nations too was not found wanting in its shared concern for culture. On 21 January 1988, it launched -- under the aegis of Unesco -- "The World Decade for Cultural Development" in its effort to chiefly (a) strengthen awareness of cultural dimension of development, and (b) enrich cultural identities the world over. In the Indian capital, the Indira Gandhi National Central for the Arts (IGNCA) has initiated a multidisciplinary discourse on development issues vis-a-vis the whole range of cultural variable and definitions. Which its newly introduced series: Cuture and Development proposes to cover in entirety. Integration of Endogenous Cultural Dimension into Development -- Volume 2 of the "Culture-and-Development" series -- takes the discourse on: from the complex issues of 'cultural identity' to the worldwide human problems stemming from the development-plannes' unmindfulness of endogenous cultures. Carrying 17 presentations of a Unesco-sponsored workship: 19-23 April 1995 at IGNCA, New Delhi, it questions the modern methods of deveopment which, evolved from the experience of the industrialized world, have brought about neither peace nor harmony, neither alleviation of proverty nor socio-economic equality. Thus arguing why current development processes call for serious rethinking, the authors spell out not only the urgency of integrating endogenous cultutal dimension into the paradigms of development, but also the relevance of linking development with the ethical basis of life and living. Also included in the volume are several case studies, with special reference to the Asian situation. The contributors to this volume are reputed scholars, planners and grassroots-level social workers from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. AUTHOR DETAILS: Baidyanath Saraswati, an anthropologist of international eminence, is Unesco-Professor at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi. And is former Professor of Anthropology at the North-Eastern Hill University; Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study; and Visiting Professor at the universities of Ranchi and Visva-Bharati. Professor Saraswati's published work comprises a number of books and monographs, among which notably figure Pottery-making Cultures and Indian Civilization; Brahmanic Ritual Traditions; Kashi : Myth and Reality; and Spectrum of the Sacred besides his edited titles, like Tribal Thought and Culture; Prakrti : Primal Elements the Oral Tradition; Prakrti: Man in Nature; Computerizing Cultures; and Cross-Cultural Lifestyle Studies.
