copyright © allyn & bacon 2008 people defining development (chapter 13)

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008

People Defining Development(Chapter 13)


The BIG Questions

What is development and the approaches to achieving it?

How is development related to indigenous people and women?

What are urgent issues in development?


What is Development?

Development is directed change to improve human welfare through poverty reduction

Development anthropology is the subfield of anthropology that studies how culture and development interact Has a strong applied component


Development and Culture Change Development is a major driver of

cultural change in contemporary times

Culture change can be intentional or accidental, forward- or backward-looking, rapid or gradual, obvious or nearly invisible, beneficial or harmful


Development and Culture Change Culture change occurs through…

Invention & Diffusion


Development and Culture Change Invention

Culture change driven within a culture through experimentation and accumulation of knowledge


Development and Cultural Change Diffusion – culture change driven by cultural

contact; the spread of culture through contact Can occur…

Between cultures of roughly equal power A more powerful culture appropriating aspects of a

less powerful culture Transfer from a dominant culture to a less powerful

one – through force, education, “marketing” Acculturation – Form of cultural change in which

a minority culture becomes more like the dominant culture

Assimilation – Form of culture change in which a culture is thoroughly acculturated and is no longer distinguishable as having a separate identity


Development and Cultural Change Diffusion


Models of Development No single view of how to achieve

development exists They differ in terms of…

Goals Process Measurement Attention to environmental and financial

sustainability


Models of Development Five major models…

Modernization Growth-oriented development Distributional development Human development Sustainable development

Some of the models overlap and are not mutually exclusive


Models of Development

Modernization

Growth-oriented development

Distributional development

Human development

Sustainable development


Modernization Modernization is a form of change

marked by economic growth through industrialization and market expansion


Modernization Western model – belief that other

cultures can develop in the same way that the West did

Goals: Industrialization, technological progress

Process: Belief that science and technology are the pathways to progress; material progress will lead to individual betterment

Problems: ??


Modernization Problems: Little regard for the

environment, brings about social inequality, trying to assimilate cultures to a Western way of thinking


Growth-Oriented Development Is similar to modernization in its goals Key emphasis on economic growth Belief that economic growth will trickle-

down, leading to improved human welfare among the less well-off

Goals: economic growth, industrialization, technological progress

Measurement of development: Rate of growth of the economy, gross domestic product (GDP)


Growth-Oriented Development Process: Structural adjustment

1. Increasing economic productivity and trade through modernized agriculture and manufacturing and participation in world markets.

2. Reducing government expenditures on public services such as schools and health in order to reduce debt and reallocate resources to increase productivity.


Growth-Oriented Development Problems: ??


Growth-Oriented Development Problems: Will the wealth trickle-down?

Or will the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? Green revolution – rich got richer and the

poor got poorer


Distributional Development Goal: Emphasizes social equality in benefits,

especially in terms of increased income, literacy, and health

Process: Rejects the trickle-down process as ineffective in

reaching less well-off people Opposes structural adjustment policies because

structural adjustment undermines the welfare of the poor by removing the few entitlements they had in the form of services

Advocates need for benevolent government to ensure equitable access of resources for the poor to provide for their own needs – government investment in schools, health care, land redistribution, etc.


Distributional Development Measurement of development: Health

status, literacy, social equality Problems:

May have difficulty implementing “Socialism” and “big government” are seen

as having negative connotations among some areas of the West


Kerala, a state in

South India, has followed a distributive path to development and, though the “poorest” state in India, it has the highest social indicators in health and education


Human Development Based on the belief that people are the

real wealth of nations Investments in improving human welfare

will lead to economic development, not vice versa

= WEALTH


Human Development Goal: Invest in human welfare rather

than economic growth Process: Invest in health, education,

personal security, and safety (may involve redistribution)

Measurement of development: Human development index (HDI) – measure of life expectancy, literacy, education, standard of living, and GDP per capita (strives to measure overall well-being, not just economic well-being)


Human Development Problems: ??


Human Development Problems: well-being is subjective – e.g.

measuring quality of life, human development, and human welfare are tricky

Gross International Happiness (GIH) or Gross National Happiness (GNH) http://www.tve.org/earthreport/archive/

doc.cfm?aid=1717


Sustainable Development Sustainable development refers to

forms of improvement that do not destroy nonrenewable resources and are financially supportable over time

Based on the belief that the economic growth of wealthy countries has been and still is costly in terms of the natural environment and people whose lives depend on these ecosystems


Sustainable Development Goal: Non-environmentally destructive

development Measurement of development:

environmental indicators and other social and economic indicators


Institutional Approaches to Development

There are a wide variety of institutions, organizations, and specialists involved in development policy making, programs, and projects

Cultural anthropologists examine the organizations involved in international developmentBehavior within the institutionsInstitutional discourseSocial interactions with the “client population”



Large-scale development institutionsMultilateral institutions – those that include several countries as “donor” members United Nations World Bank



World Bank Founded in 1944 Dedicated to promoting the concept of economic growth

worldwide Is supported by contributions from over 150 member countries

– economic superpowers dominate it Main strategy is to promote international investment through

loans Most loans support large infrastructure projects such as roads

and dams Most loans charge interest and are tied to certain conditions



Large-scale development institutionsBilateral institutions – those that involve only two countries: a “donor” and a “recipient”

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID)

Differ in amount of grants versus loans, countries to which they lend to, etc. depending on each “donor” country’s interests and political goals



Small-scale organizationsGrassroots approach – locally initiated projectsMore likely to be culturally appropriate, supported through local participation, and successfulOften utilize social capital – intangible resources of social ties, trust, and cooperation Often can use social capital to provide basic

social and economic needsMay be faith-based organizations


Example of grassroots development among the peyizan yo of Haiti


The Development Project Development institutions, whether they

are large or small, implement their goals through the development project

The development project is a set of activities designed to put development policies into action


The Project Cycle

All development projects have a project cycle, or the full process of a project from initial planning to completion

The project cycle includes 5 basic steps from beginning to end


The Development Project Cycle

Project identification

Project design

Project appraisal

Project implementation

Project evaluation


History of Anthropologists and the Project Cycle

Most individuals that work in large-scale development institutions are economists

Since the 1970s applied anthropologists have been involved in development projects

Anthropologists were first hired to be project evaluations

Found a variety of problems with development projects


Problems with Development Projects

The project was inappropriate for the cultural and environmental context

The target group, such as the poor and women, had not been reached, but instead project benefits had gone to some other group

The intended beneficiaries were actually worse off after the project than before it


Why these problems? Poor project design

Projects designed by people-distant and culturally uninformed bureaucrats, usually Western economists who lived in cities far from the project site with no firsthand experience of the lives of the target population


Why these problems?

Lack of a sociocultural fit Sociocultural fit is taking the local

culture into account in project design e.g. giving milk to a community that is lactose

intolerant Tree project in Haiti

“Experts” applied a universal formula (“one size fits all”) to all situations


Why these problems?

Development aggression – the imposition of development projects and policies without the free, prior, and informed consent of the affected people Some scholars argue that many

development projects are a form of neocolonialism


Anthropologists and the Project Cycle Today

Today anthropologists are involved in earlier aspects of the project cycle as well

Recognition among development institutions for the people-close, culturally informed perspective that anthropologists begin



Anthropologists may engage in traditional development anthropology (TDA)

When an anthropologist takes on a role of helping to make development policies and programs work better

Anthropologist asks: What can I do to make this project successful?



Anthropologists may engage in critical development anthropology (CDA)

When an anthropologist takes on a critical-thinking role

Anthropologist asks: Is this a good project from the perspective of the local people and their environment?



Anthropologists may be considered a bit of a nuisance because their involvement may slow the process of implementing projects

But hopefully the tradeoff is a more successful project!


Social Impact Assessment Social impact assessments are studies

that gauge the potential social costs and benefits of particular innovations before change is undertaken Anthropologists are often involved in these

assessments The studies may allow communities that are

confronting the adoption of new technology the chance to weigh evidence on the pros and cons and make an informed judgment


Development and Minority Groups

Indigenous people and women are often the ones most negatively affected by development projects


Indigenous People & Development

Indigenous people have been subjected to loss of rights, land, and culture they once had

Through indigenous claims and pressure, some states have begun to resolve land issues

Many indigenous people have formed their own organizations to promote “development from within”

Some organizations link separate indigenous groups to increase their power


Example: Native Peoples of Walpole Island, Canada, fought to control industrial waste that was polluting their water and land


Women and Development

There is often a male bias in development which is when development projects are designed and implemented with men as beneficiaries and without regard to their impact on women’s roles and status



Have lost political power and rights to property e.g. decline of matrilineality Increased inequality in genders by giving men greater access

to new sources of income Have undergone “domestication” due to

development projects which focus on infant feeding practices, child care, and family planning Their lives have been more focused on the domestic domain

and more removed from the public domain Male bias in development and the exclusion of

women has led to some development projects to fail

As a result of male-biased development, women:



Many women have formed organizations to improve their lives


Urgent Issues and New Directions in Development

Designing more people centered projects is a priority Redefining development projects as life

projects A life project is local people’s vision of

the direction they want to take in life, informed by their knowledge, history, and context, and how to achieve that vision


Urgent Issues and New Directions in Development

Viewing the protection of cultural rights as a human right Making sure development doesn’t destroy

culture and a culture’s environment should be a priority

Great in theory, but in practice in our increasingly globalized world cultural practices and positions of two or more cultures may conflict


Urgent Issues and New Directions in Development Viewing cultural heritage as a way to

development Promoting cultural heritage, through tourism for

example, can be a double-edged sword, though Tourism can preserve and protect cultural heritage

(e.g. preserving indigenous arts) But tourism can also damage and destroy culture

and the environment (e.g. through roads, hotels) Promoting cultural intellectual property rights

Can help people gain a share of profits from intellectual property

But can also be difficult to defend and enforce


Cultural Anthropology of the Future

Cultural anthropologists work with and for local people To secure human rights and prevent human

rights abuses To improve their lives through appropriate

development projects and policies To foster cultural diversity, understanding,

and survival throughout the world


The BIG Questions Revisited

What is development and the approaches to achieving it?

How is development related to indigenous people and women?

What are urgent issues in development?


Sudan is the site of longstanding “ethnic” and regional violence. In 2005, southern gained some autonomy from

the north.


Ladakh


Climate Change & Our Future

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34115143/ns/news-picture_stories/displaymode/1247/?beginSlide=1

copyright © allyn & bacon 2008 people defining development (chapter 13)

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