Agents of Culture Change

Melanesians and Missionaries:  An Ethnohistorical Study of Social and Religious Change in the Southwest Pacific by Darrell L. Whiteman (William Carey Library, 1983)

 I first reviewed this book in 1984 for the missiology discussion in international development at the USCWM's IIS - Perspectives Study Program. At that time, the book's discussion of the Melanesian Brotherhood consumed my early attention as I was immersed in my own experience of a protestant religious order.

Now, I am revisiting the text in terms of directed culture change. I am shocked that other texts on culture and change (such as Larry L. Naylor, Culture and Change: An Introduction. Greenwood, 1996) do not include this as background to their studies. Where else has this seminal work been overlooked?

So, in terms of general Anthropology, this text is basic for directed culture change. In terms of practical Anthropology, this book is important as change agents do not operate without the give and take of the culture in which they are immersed. For missiology, this is a fundamental study. For the history and culture of the Melanesian people(s) in the South Pacific over the last 150 years, you will not find a more comprehensive overview with detailed notes and bibliography.