Anthropology as a tool for cultural innovation

Raghav Rmadya
Aug 8, 2017 · 5 min read

A lot of people have asked me “How can learnings from the life of the Nuer People be applied to innovation?” So I decided to share parts of my term paper that I think could be helpful to understand the context. I cannot share the intricacies of how I used this knowledge at work but I will leave questions for you to guide your thinking as you read. Happy to chat if you have questions!

The cultural interpretations assignment that I mentioned in my previous post can be found here

Source: www.yourstory.com

Introduction

The Nuer, who call themselves the ‘Nath’, are partially nomadic nilotic peoples of Southern Sudan and Ethiopia. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in southern Sudan and their distinct way of life has drawn curiosity from cultural anthropologists around the globe.

Interpretation of culture

Before dwelling into representation of culture, it is important to understand how we interpret it. In his essay “Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture”, Clifford Geertz asserts that the study of anthropology is semiotic in nature i.e the meaning of symbols and events cannot be generalized and it is essential to know the context before ascribing it an interpretation. Geertz gives examples of how physical expressions such as winking and crossing fingers can have varying interpretations in different social and cultural settings.

Photo by Peter Hershey on Unsplash

Q1. What symbols and events define culture in your organization?

Bronislaw Malinowski, a renowned 20th century anthropologist, mentions the disparity that exists between observation and presentation of information and reminds us about the authoritative nature of ethnographic research in his book, “Argonauts of the Western Pacific”. (Malinowski 1922). These ideas are important understand how certain biases can affect the ethnographer’s representation and our interpretation of certain symbols, culture and people

Q2. Is culture consistent across your organization or does it vary across divisions?

In his book ‘The Nuer: a Description of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Institutions of a Nilotic People’, Evans-Pritchard gives us an account of how the Nuer organize themselves, their political structures, their interpretation of time and space and their lineage system while drawing connections between them. His key finding is the importance of cattle in the lives of the Nuer and how the majority of their societal design and relationships revolves around cattle. Pritchard explains the supportive nature of the Nuer kinship structure and how they work together in order to assure their own survival and that of their culture.

Photo by Filip Bunkens on Unsplash

Q3. What’s your cattle? What does your organisation care about?

In 1971, Hilary Harris and Robert Gardner released their documentary ‘The Nuer’ in which they filmed the Nuer in their natural habitat with little interference in their day to day lives. The filmmakers use narration only to give anthropological accounts of events such as the bride price dispute, the ghost marriage and a ritualistic initiation where two boys receive the forehead incisions of manhood.

Source: The Good Men Project

Q4. What are the rites of passage in your organization?

In their article ‘Violence, legitimacy, and prophecy: Nuer struggles with uncertainty in South Sudan.”, Hutchinson and Pendle discuss the Nuer struggles in South Sudan using historical context and emphasize on the significance of prophetic traditions in the Nuer society. They conduct a comparative analysis on two powerful living prophets, Gatdeang Dit and Nyachol, to explore the power and influence they have in the Nuer culture.

Source: www.sagermeister.com/tag/power-differential/

Q5. How does the history of your organization influence power differential, if any, in the organizational structure?

The authors show that despite striking differences in the perspective and ideologies of the leaders, they play a vital role with respect to people’s emotional, social and political insecurities. They conclude that the reluctance of international community to include these prophet’s in negotiations and conflict resolution is a mistake that needs correction. .

Source: cvonline.hu

Q6. Do you, as a leader, allow and encourage participation of people who might disagree with you when brainstorming to solve a problem?

Similarly, John D. Holtzman, in his book ‘Nuer Journeys, Nuer Lives: Sudanese Refugees in Minnesota’, discusses the hardships that the Nuer face as refugees in the United States. He points out that when they emigrate, the web of kinship expands and identification within that particular group weakens which causes their kinship structures to weaken. He also talks about how the Nuer children have many of the same problems assimilating to a new community as their adult counterparts through engaging case studies and accounts of the refugees.

Source: Center for Creative Leadership

Q7. What does kinship i.e the web of social relationships in your organization looks like?

In his review of Hutchinson’s book ‘Nuer Dilemmas: Coping with Money, War, and the State’, Richard Grinker argues that (Pritchard 1940) presents a well ordered account of Nuer culture that was isolated from the history and sufferings perpetuated by the British conquest of the southern Sudan. He talks about how rinderpest killed thousands of cattle yet the British prevented men from raiding other men to replenish their herds and efforts in the 1930s to legally separate the Dinka and Nuer to stimulate inter-ethnic peace. According to Grinker, new infrastructure allowed trade to open up and legal documents such as passports, permits, and price controls came into operation.

Q8. Why are you considering open innovation? What are the problems that have made your ogranization to consider it?

Photo by Pablo Garcia Saldaña on Unsplash

Q9. Has your organization made efforts to fully understand the problems that employees face?

The questions that concern cultural anthropologists today are not just the “how” questions but also the “why”. The anthropological representation of the Nuer has transformed from a people’s way of life to representation of their culture in context of the environment around them. Today, ethnographers are more interested in using anthropological knowledge and methods to know the social and cultural design that can help solve problems that concern mankind.

Source: Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning

Q10. Are your strategies problem focused or do you use design thinking to be solution focused?

Raghav Rmadya

Written by

I find cities fascinating! The connections between culture, people, technology and life amaze me. I hope you find my thoughts invigorating!

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