ABSTRACT
Positioned half way between the Arab and the African worlds, the Sudan is made up of numerous and diverse social groups and cultures. Long a home to indigenous chiefdoms, kingships, and sultanates, in the early 19th century the Sudan came under foreign domination: Turkish, Egyptian, and then British. Post-independence regimes and states in the Sudan have committed themselves to certain kinds of modernization and directed change, and over the last few years the pace of development has increased dramatically. In the early 1970's several mechanized agricultural projects have been started outside the two towns, with investment from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Sudan. In the history of modern Sudan, administrative and political institutions have changed hands many times. Anthropological work in the Sudan ranges from help in the implementation and designing of new projects to evaluating old, existing projects. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
