Economy, Culture and the Imperatives of Contemporary Anthropology
Gaynor Macdonald, University of Sydney
Focusing on the social malaise facing many Aboriginal communities, this paper addresses the relative absence of economic analysis in Australian Aboriginal anthropology by asking what it means to bring economies - local and national, macro and micro - into the context of cultural practice and social adjustment. I will argue that a capacity for a cultural transformation of economic practice has been possible through Wiradjuri colonial histories (central western NSW) until very recently. This is no longer possible and the impacts are harsh. This raises the question of the relationship between economies and cultural practices which is central to understanding colonial histories as well as contemporary experiences.
