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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.
COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS ANTH Grading Mode: Graded
Prerequisites: NONE
Last Updated on MAR-19-2004
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459