An example of cross-pollination in social sciences: A comparative case study on capability development in contemporary Serbia

This article provides short introduction to the anthropological notion of culture. The concepts of Lifelong Education (LLE) and Lifelong Learning (LLL) as fields of practice are also under scrutiny. I argue that the latter may be seen as a cross-pollination of fields within the Humanities and Social Sciences, but have a fundamental difference from anthropology in that they are more heavily geared to introduce changes. However, one of my main points is that anthropological notion of culture has had a profound influence on the formation of these fields of practice and continues to be a fruitful source for contemporary practitioners in Education in general and in Lifelong Education in particular. Drawing on long anthropological tradition that anthropology uses case studies to shed light on its specific field of interest, I will provide one case study: “Basic Adult Literacy Programmes in Belgrade as a means of adaptation to neo-liberalism”. This will be useful primarily in showing the practical relevance of anthropological notion of culture to the educational sciences, broadly conceived. This might be placed within the context of value shift in contemporary Serbia.