Barriers to Development and Modernization in Greece

A survey of academic approaches to agrarian transformation in post-war Greece

“…5 It was social anthropologists from outside Greece, with their interest in recording the details of post-war village community, who broke the traditional pre-war nationalistic focus on 'custom' with minimum reference to its human agents and living conditions. The first studies of this kind sought to find out how post-war economic recovery might be achieved, the uses of American aid at the village level [McNeill, 1967], and the adaptive strategies of local value systems to modernisation [McNall, 1976]. However, what they observed of the rural world was also affected by a desire to change it in ways that ended up reinforcing stereotypes of 'the other'.…”

Cultural, Social, and Environmental Influences on Surviving Dietary Patterns of the Past: A Case Study from the Northern Villages of Karpathos

“…Moreover, it is thought that those in the prime of life should posses the most valuable items, although Dawkins argues that the absence of men for the greater part of the year may also contribute to the survival of female succession. McNall (1976) noted that in some regions of Greece, land is sold in order to build a cash dowry, to support the young bride and groom's move to urban areas. This is not the usual case in Olympos.…”

Parental loss and problem behaviour in Greek adolescents: student and teacher perspectives

“…Significant others such as relatives, neighbours, teachers, schoolmates may, as a result, hold firm positive or negative convictions, even prejudices, regarding this group of young people. Traditionality, and its opposite, modernity, are regarded as important sociological characteristics of families, communities and societies (McNall, 1976). A high degree of traditionality is characteristic of small, close-knit communities with an agriculturally oriented economy, strong family and communal bonds, low tolerance for deviance from norms imposing family's stability.…”