Crisisverschijnselen in de antropologie: enkele aantekeningen bij het 'bovenbazenperspectief'

Samenvatting

The last book of J. Boissevain is considered (Friends of Friends, Networks, Manipulators and Coalitions, Oxford: 1974). Boissevain is a representative of the "network theory" in anthropology. It represents a kind of methodological individualism that insists social systems "are nothing more than individual human beings related to one another & interacting in certain specific ways." Boissevain is a particularly extreme individualist & an egalitarian. He opposes traditional models that reduce societies to generalized role relations & presupposes the existence of a consensus between their members. He sees each person as the center of a network of relationships that extend beyond those of immediate contact (ie, friends of friends). Boissevain considers structural-functionalism as the archenemy. Nevertheless, his own position is much closer to it than he admits. They share a vision of man that conceptualizes each person as an independent entity & not as a social being. Network theory is probably most applicable in such societies as Italy, Greece, or Malta & deals better with problems of patronage, brokerage, or friendships. A. Orianne.