Book
New lives for old: cultural transformation--Manus, 1928-1953
Morrow • New York • Published In 1956 • Pages:
By: Mead, Margaret.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This volume is an extension of the author's earlier work, GROWING UP IN NEW GUINEA, published in 1930. It is based on her study of Manus in the Admiralty Islands in 1953, twenty-five years after her original field study. The main problems of research were to discover what 'really happened' to transform the Manus people so rapidly, and what was the impact of change on individuals who experienced such change. In analyzing the dynamics of culture change of Manus, the author discusses the impact of American military occupation, the characteristics and the role of the Manus leader, the socio-religious-political reform movements; the socialization process of the Manus children and their character formation in relation to the character structure of those who developed them; and new institutions such as their democratic decision-making mechanism, money, economy, schools, medical clinics, etc. The author deals with a rather comprehensive range of factors involved in the culture change utilizing an interdisciplinary approach and the comparative method. However, her free style of shifting back and forth the data of the past and the present, the local situation and the greater New Guinea situation, and the Manus problems and the Euro-American culture makes it difficult for the reader to follow her discussions closely. The quality of the ethnographic data is uneven. The appendices reveal the author's view that the new role of anthropologists is to be not only the researcher but also to be the consultant and agent of change. This book is designed for non-professionals as well as the professional. In spite of its diffuseness, this study will be of value to those who are interested in culture change and planned change. The author's polemic against the general educational theory is noteworthy.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Reviews and critiques
- Theoretical orientation in research and its results
- Observation in research
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Sociocultural trends
- Exchange transactions
- External relations
- Political movements
- Disasters
- Congregations
- Missions
- Difficult and unusual births
- Childhood activities
- Techniques of socialization
- Transmission of skills
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Manus
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2005
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Oceania
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Melanesia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Hesung C. Koh ; 1962
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1928-1929, 1953
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1953
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea
- NotesAdditional notes
- Margaret Mead
- Appendices: I. Methods used in this study -- II. A Look at Manus from the level of the United Nations -- III. Technical assistance policies and the future of the Manus -- IV. Implications for mental health and education
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 529-532)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 56005866
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Manus (Papua New Guinea people)