Introduction Lecture 1

Question 1

Important Question

Answer 1

How should anthropologists react to development?

• Intervention? Since we state to have the skills to make projects successful, knowledge of culture and development.
• Or should we disassociate?

Question 2

What do anthropologists mean by ‘development’?

Answer 2

Hard Development
- Building structure 
Soft Development 
-Education and agricultural projects 
Humanitarian Aid 
Humanitarian Intervention 
-War

Question 3

Developed and undeveloped

Answer 3

Developed, complete.
Undeveloped, Still got a way to go to reach us.
Western countries, UK and USA, used at the peak.

Question 4

Africa

Answer 4

Africa is improving but not developed. Appears extra undeveloped to play on ethnocentrism to get our help.
Undeveloping? Can countries go backwards?

Question 5

Hard and Soft Development

Answer 5

The two are very much related but one of the key goals is to see how these two influence each other.

Question 6

Development Anthropology

Answer 6

-How can anthropologists contribute and improve development projects?
Branch of applied anthropology.
Associated Challenges:
-How to convince of the need for anthropological expertise.
-Market anthropological skills.
-Form niche roles and apply methods.
-How to balance the interests of development managers with those of locals?
-Should they be mediators or advocates?
-Driven by the idea that society can be improved/some social practices immoral.

Question 7

Anthropology of Development

Answer 7

• Branch of anthropology that deconstructs and problematises the concept of development
• Flourishes in the 1980’s post-structuralist phase
• Development linked to colonialism, capitalism and this often creates dependancy and ethnocentrism
• Development not only sees some societies as inferior, but also reproduces their inferiority.
• Anthropologists working in development are agents of such inequality and give anthropology a bad name.

Question 8

Development Anthropologists Vs Anthropology of Development

Answer 8

Dev Anth: Likely to look at the logistics of aid such as how to distribute water.
Anth of Dev: Likely to ask about the ethics of army intervention.
Do we mother the third world? Who do we benefit with aid? Us or them?

Question 9

Anth of Dev or Dev Anth:

Myth

Answer 9

First came development anthropology in the 1950’s and 60’s, then the anthropology of development in the 1980’s 90’s.
These two schools of thought are incompatible, each see the other as morally incorrect.
Gap between theory and practice.

Question 10

Anth of Dev or Dev Anth:

Facts

Answer 10

-Each approach had its golden age, but they did develop alongside/against each other.
-Many anthropologists are/do both
-Should be seen as two positions in dialogue with each other.
-Not stale, anthropologists finding ways to resolve this issue.
-New solutions, no such thing as applied anth.
There is a tension between the two.