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Academic Year 2003/2004


Anthropology of Development
ANTH 259 FA

Crosslistings:
WMST 259

Our purpose in this course will be to critically explore the notion and phenomenon of development through an anthropological lens--that is, to focus on what is "cultural" about development. We will examine the various ways in which development has been conceptualized, approached, and critiqued by different sets of theorists. We will begin by looking at the orthodox ("modernization") and political economic paradigms of development. We will then explore the more recent "anthropological" studies of development. These critical analyses of development argue that development operates as a "regime of representation and power" that creates people's and nations' identities (such as "poor", "underdeveloped", and "modern") and then exerts control over them. However, instead of assuming that development works as a monolithic and totalizing force that only exerts power over people, we will look at ethnographies that show how development is "received," understood and sometimes contested by people at the grassroots-level. In other words, we will examine how development operates as a fertile and "productive" terrain which not only disciplines people but also allows spaces for negotiation. We will also examine how gender figures into these different analyses.

MAJOR READINGS

W.W. Rostow, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, Clifford Geertz, Paul Baran, Andre G. Frank, Cardoso and Faletto, Arturo Escobar, Gustavo Esteva, James Ferguson, Cooper and Packard, Jonathan Crush, Stacey Leigh Pigg, Donald Moore, Tania Murray Li, Anna Tsing, Naila Kabeer, Peet and Watts, Vandana Shiva, Wolfgang Sachs, Ivan Illich, and others.

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

short papers, midterm and final

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS ANTH    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: NONE

SECTION 01

Instructor(s): Sharma, Aradhana    
Times: .M.W... 11:00AM-12:20PM;     Location: FISK413
Reserved Seats:    (Total Limit: 30)
SR. major: 5   Jr. major: 5
SR. non-major: 5   Jr. non-major: 5   SO: 10   FR: X

Special Attributes:
Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-19-2004


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