E-grāmata: Vicos and Beyond: A Half Century of Applying Anthropology in Peru

Considered a groundbreaking example of applied anthropology, the Cornell-Peru Project (CPP, 1952-62) is now mostly forgotten. Editors Greaves (emer., Bucknell Univ.), Bolton (Pomona College), and Zapata (The Mountain Institute) have assembled a volume that is part detailed history by surviving members of the project and part evaluation of it by anthropologists who were not part of it. Chapters by researchers describing similar projects and by anthropologists discussing the current state of Vicos round out the book. No consensus emerges as to the CPP's success or failure, but each contribution provides an important perspective on the project, the role of applied anthropology then and now, and the changes in Peruvian society since the 1950s. Graduate students and researchers interested in the relationship between anthropology and development, or the history of the discipline in Latin America, will find the book useful. Undergraduates will find the specificity of the contributions daunting, but those by Jason Pribilsky, Bolton, and Zapata discussing, respectively, anthropology in the era of Cold War politics, the continued relevance of applied anthropology, and a specific case of a cultural heritage program provide treatments accessible to advanced undergraduates. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty. * CHOICE * Vicos and Beyond is a thoughtfully put-together compilation on the contentious community development project run by Cornell in highland Peru in the mid-twentieth century. . . .[ The book] challenge[ s] methodological and theoretical paradigms on development work and make the collected works reviewed here invaluable to anthropologists struggling through the labyrinthine intricacies of applied collaborations today. . . .Vicos and Beyond is a keen exploration of the historiography of Andean applied anthropology that has brought novel and much-needed material from Peruvianists to the discipline-wide discussion on changes in applied research. It is thus fitting that the concluding portion of the volume points to a future in collaborative applied work where we include the stories, interpretations, and perceptions of the subjects who participate in research projects. * Collaborative Anthropologies * Full of pros, cons, and new informative details, these insiders' essays offer fresh perspectives on Cornell's audacious social experiment. -- Dwight B. Heath, Brown University