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Accepted Paper:

Big revolutions, two small disciplines and socialism  
Chris Hann (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology)

Paper short abstract:

Given new challenges, e.g. from cognitive science, it is again imperative that social anthropologists work more closely with historians and archaeologists. The argument will be illustrated with reference to the rise and demise of Marxist-Leninist-Maoist socialism.

Paper long abstract:

The concept of a 'big revolution' has been developed in the history and philosophy of science. Its application to human history in general is at least equally contentious. Was the origin of the human species one big revolution or were there several somewhat smaller ones? Was industrial capitalism the outcome of a single dramatic rupture, or did Karl Polanyi greatly exaggerate the 'Great Transformation' of the nineteenth century? This paper will focus on the rise and fall of Marxist-Leninist-Maoist socialism in the twentieth century. Contrary to the common perception that socialism was irreducibly modern (a cousin, sibling or even a twin of Polanyi's postulated rupture), I shall argue that it has abundant precedents in past concerns with equality. The two small disciplines of anthropology and archaeology need to work together in the investigation of continuity and change throughout human evolution. It is important that they make their voices heard, and are not swept aside by a 'big revolution' called 'cognitive science(s)'.

Panel Plen1
Divorce and partial reconciliation: twentieth century disciplinary trajectories in social anthropology and archaeology
  Session 1