Big Man, Anthropology of

Rena Lederman

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Referring to achieved leadership (often contrasted with inherited "chiefly" rank), "big man" has come to stand for a type of political organization closely associated with, although not limited to, Melanesia. This article locates the term's early uses, tracks developing analyses, and notes the shifting place of these studies vis-à-vis larger scholarly arguments. Contemporary trends include waning interest in classic comparativist typology building in favor of historically and culturally situated understandings of personhood and social action: attentive to gendered and emergent class relations, to nation-making and governance dilemmas, and to the impacts of international agencies and corporate interests on local communities and environments.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationInternational Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences: Second Edition
PublisherElsevier Inc.
Pages567-573
Number of pages7
ISBN (Electronic)9780080970875
ISBN (Print)9780080970868
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 26 2015

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Social Sciences

Keywords

  • Big man
  • Chief
  • Comparative anthropology
  • Crony capitalism
  • Democracy
  • Economic development
  • Egalitarianism
  • Gender
  • Gift exchange
  • Historical change
  • Leadership
  • Melanesia
  • Oceania
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Political systems
  • Weak states

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Big Man, Anthropology of'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this