SYLLABUS

ANTH 363/LACAS 363

FALL 2003


ANTHROPOLOGY OF DEVELOPING NATIONS

 

 


Instructor:
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Office:
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Carmen Alicia Ferradás
M-W 2:20-3:45 pm
SW 328

S1 139A, LT 1308
(x 74868 or 72765)
ferrada@binghamton.edu
Office Hours: M-W 9:30-10:30 or by appointment

General Education Requirements: N, G, O


Course Description: A critical analysis of the nature of development and underdevelopment in the late 20th century, and of post-development in the new Millennium. This course examines historically how different ideas regarding development, modernity, modernization and progress evolved in Europe and in the United States and how these ideas guided economic and social policies in the Third World. Students will engage in a critical examination of these concepts. Readings also discuss how these notions have been adopted, challenged or subverted in various nation-states in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Students will explore the paradoxes and dilemmas of this encounter, the role of social sciences in development planning, the policies and practices of major international development agencies and national governments, the location of developing societies in the world economy, and the effects of globalization. Focus will be on contributions of anthropology to development projects in the Third World with an emphasis on Latin America.

The class will meet two times a week and will consist of lectures and discussions. Students should read the assigned articles and/or books in advance. The success of the discussion sessions depends upon the active participation of students.

Contents and requirements of this course may be slightly modified according to students' interests and performance.

Course Requirements:

Oral component of the course
1. Two presentations on readings. Students will briefly present readings and will lead class discussions (20% of course grade).
2. Final Presentation. Students will choose a topic from the syllabus and will address its importance, controversies, critiques, and/ or benefits and failures related to it. This counts as the second examination. See below (25% of final grade).

Class participation
Students= preparation for classes will be evaluated through quizzes, questions on readings presented by students, and short written reports (5% of final grade).

Examinations
1. First Examination: Take-Home Exam. Due date: October 8 (20 % of final grade).
2. Second Examination: In class oral examination. Students will present a topic from the syllabus and will respond to questions from classmates and professor. Evaluation will be based on instructor and classmates assessments. Dates: December 1,3,8,10.
3. Final Examination: Take-home exam. Essay questions will be based on course readings and lectures.

Course Policies:
1. Attendance. Attendance is required and will be taken at every class meeting. If you miss more than three classes, and you fail to justify the absences over that limit, your final grade will be reduced.
2. Academic Honesty. You are expected to practice academic honesty in this class. You are responsible for completing class assignments in a timely manner. Failure to submit papers and assignments on due dates will result in a late penalty. Course assignments are your sole responsibility and plagiarism will not be accepted. Any incident of academic dishonesty will be penalized and may also result in a final F for the class. For more information on university policies regarding academic honesty, please consult the University Bulletin in full.

3. Use of E-mail. Electronic submissions of papers will not be accepted.


Required texts:

Long, Norman 2001 Development Sociology. Actor Perspectives. London and New York: Routledge.

Friedman Jonathan, ed. 2003 Globalization, the State and Violence. Walnut Creek, Ca and Lanham, MD: Altamira and Rowman and Littlefield.

Starhawk 2002 Webs of Power. Notes from the Global Uprising. Gavriola Island, BC.: New Society Publishers.

Farmer, Paul 2003 Pathologies of Power. Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Rahnema, Majid and Victoria Bawtree 1997 The Post Development Reader. London and New Jersey: Zed Books.


Recommended:

Schaeffer, Robert 2003 Understanding Globalization. The Social Consequences of Political and Environmental Change. Lanham and Boulder: Rowman and Littlefield.
Saunders, Kriemild, ed. 2002 Feminist Post-Development Thought. Rethinking Modernity, Post-Colonialism and Representation. London and New York: Zed Books.


1. The Meanings of Development

September 3 Introduction
Recommended Readings:
Gardner, Katy and David Lewis 1996 Anthropology, Development, and the Postmodern Challenge. Chapter 1, Pp. 1-25
Hoogvelt, Ankie 2001 Globalization and the Postcolonial World. The New Political Economy of Development. Part 1, Pp.3-57
Ferguson, James Anthropology and Its Evil Twin. "Development in the Constitution of a Discipline." In International Development and the Social Sciences. Frederick Cooper and Randall Packard, eds. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Pp.150-175.

September 8-10 Local meanings of development
Readings:
Sahlins, Marshall 1997 "The Original Affluent Society In The Post-Development Reader". Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp. 3-21
Zaoual Hassan, 1997 "The Economy and Symbolyc Sites of Africa". In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp.30-39
Clarkson Linda, Vern Morrissette and Gabriel Regallet "Our Responsibility to the Seventh Generation." In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp.40-50
Dahl Gudrun and Gemetchu Megerssa 1997 "The Spiral of the Ram's Horn: Boran concepts of Development." In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp. 51-62
Recommended:
Gardner, Katy and David Lewis 1996 Anthropology, Development, and the Postmodern Challenge. Chapter 1, Pp. 1-25

September 15 Dominant Views and Critiques
Readings:

Shanin, Theodor 1997 "The Idea of Progres." In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp.65-72.
Berman, Marshall 1997 "Faust, The first Developer". In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp.73-84.
Escobar, Arturo 1997 "The Making and Unmaking of the Third World Through Development". In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, pp. 85-102.
Latouche, Serge 1997 "Paradoxical Growth>" In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp.135-151.

2. How Development works

September 17-22 Development Strategies
Readings:
Nandy, Ashis 1997 "Colonization of the mind". In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp. 168-181.
Petras, James 1997 "The New Cultural Domination by the Media". In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp. 182-189.
Long, Norman 2001 Development Sociology. Actor Perspectives. London and New York: Routledge. Chapters 1 and 2.
De Senarclens, Pierre 1997 "How the United Nations Promotes Development Tthrough Technical Assistance." In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp. 190-201.

September 24 Does/Did Development Fail?
Readings:
Galeano, Eduardo 1997 "To be like them". In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp.214-222.
Ferguson, James 1997 "Development and Bureaucratic Power in Lesotho" In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp.223-233.
Hancock, Graham 1997 "Transmigration in Indonesia: How Millions are Uprooted". In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, 235-243.
America. Bloomfield, Ct. Kumarian Press. Chapter 1.

3. The End of Development?

September 29 October 1 Globalization, Post-Development, Post-Coloniality
Readings:
Friedman, Jonathan 2003 "Globalization, Dis-integration, Re-organization. The Transformation of Violence." In Globalization, The State, and Violence. Jonathan Friedman , ed. Walnut Creek, Ca and Lanham, Md: Altamira and Rowman and Littlefield, Pp.1-34.
Long, Norman 2001 Development Sociology. Actor Perspectives. London and New York: Routledge, chapter 10.
Shaeffer, Robert 2003 Understanding Globalization. The Social Consequences of Political, Economic, and Environmental Change. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, Chapter 1.
Rahnema, Majid 1997 "Towards Post-Development: Searching for Signposts, A New Language and New Paradigms." In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp. 377-403,
Recommended:
Shaeffer, Robert 2003 Understanding Globalization. The Social Consequences of Political, Economic, and Environmental Change. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, Chapters 2-6. .
Hoogvelt, Ankie 2001 Globalization and the Postcolonial World, chapters 4, 7, 8, 10

4. Alternative Development and Modernities

October 8-13 Knowledge and Power
Readings:
Parpart, Jane 2002 "Rethinking Empowerment, Gender and Development from a Post-(Post-?) Development Perspective" In Feminist Post-Development Thought. Rethinking Modernity, Post-Colonialism and Representation. Kriemild Saunders, ed. London and New York : Zed Books, Pp.41-56.
Long, Norman 2001 Development Sociology. Actor Perspectives. London and New York: Routledge. Chapters 3, 4, 8 and 9.

October 15 Participation and Local Knowledge
Readings:
Scott, James 1997 "The Infrapolitics of Subordinate Groups". In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp.311-328.
Elabor-Idemudia 2002 "Participatory Research. A tool in the Production of Knowledge in Development Discourse". In Feminist Post-Development Thought . Rethinking Modernity, Post-Colonialism and Representation. Kriemild Saunders, ed. London and New York : Zed Books, Pp. 227-242.
Esteva, Gustavo and Mahdu Suri Prakash 1997 "From Global Thinking to Local Thinking In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp.277-289.
Sachs, Wolfgang 1997 "The Need for the Home Perspective." In The Post-Development Reader. Majid Rahnema and Victoria Bawtree, eds. London and New Jersey: Zed Books, Pp.290-301.

5. Economic considerations

October 20-22 Development and Market Economy
Readings:
Long, Norman 2001 Development Sociology. Actor Perspectives. London and New York: Routledge, Chapters 5, 6, and 7.
Ghezi, Simone and Enzo Mingione 2003 "Beyond the Informal Economy. New Trends in Post-Fordist Transition". In Globalization, The State, and Violence. Jonathan Friedman , ed. Walnut Creek, Ca and Lanham, Md: Altamira and Rowman and Littlefield, Pp. 87-103.

6. Development Actors

October 27 Development Bureaucracies, Aid Agencies, Planning Agents and the State
Readings;
Ferradás, Carmen 1997 From Vegetable Gardens to Flower Gardens: The Symbolic Construction of Social Mobility in a Development Project. Human Organization 56(4): 450-461.
Turner, Terence 2003 AClass Projects, Social Consciousness, and the Contradictions of "Globalization". In Globalization, The State, and Violence. Jonathan Friedman , ed. Walnut Creek, Ca and Lanham, Md: Altamira and Rowman and Littlefield, Pp. 35-66.
Sassen Saskia 2003 "Economic Globalization and the Redrawing of Citizenship." In Globalization, The State, and Violence. Jonathan Friedman , ed. Walnut Creek, Ca and Lanham, Md: Altamira and Rowman and Littlefield, Pp. 67-86.

7. Exploring the Impact of Development

October 30- November 3 Human Rights and Health
Readings:
Farmer, Paul 2003 Pathologies of Power. Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

November 10-12 Violence and Security
Readings:
Glick Schiller, Nina and Georges Fouron 2003 "Violence, Globalization and the Apparent State". In Globalization, The State, and Violence. Jonathan Friedman , ed. Walnut Creek, Ca and Lanham, Md: Altamira and Rowman and Littlefield.
Wieviorka, Michel 2003 "The New Paradigm of Violence". In Globalization, The State, and Violence. Jonathan Friedman , ed. Walnut Creek, Ca and Lanham, Md: Altamira and Rowman and Littlefield, Pp. 107-139.
Reyna, Teve 2003 "Imagining Monsters. A Structural History of Warfare in Chad (1968-1990)". In Globalization, The State, and Violence. Jonathan Friedman , ed. Walnut Creek, Ca and Lanham, Md: Altamira and Rowman and Littlefield, Pp. 279-307.
Sampson, Steven 2003 "Trouble Spots.' Projects, Bandits, and State Fragmentation". In Globalization, The State, and Violence Jonathan Friedman , ed. Walnut Creek, Ca and Lanham, Md: Altamira and Rowman and Littlefield, Pp.309-342.
Ekholm Friedman, Kajsa 2003 "State Classes, the Logic of Rentier Power and Social Disintegration." In Globalization, The State, and Violence Jonathan Friedman , ed. Walnut Creek, Ca and Lanham, Md: Altamira and Rowman and Littlefield.

7. Resisting Development

November 17-19 Resistance to Development and Globalization: Global Justice Movements
Readings:
Starhawk 2002 Webs of Power. Notes from the Global Uprising. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.

8. The Discovery of Women in Development

November 24 Women and Development
Readings:
Saunders, Kriemild 2002 "Introduction. Towards a Deconstructive Post-Development Criticism." In Feminist Post-Development Thought . Rethinking Modernity, Post-Colonialism and Representation. Kriemild Saunders, ed. London and New York : Zed Books, Pp. 1-37.

Staudt, Kathleen 2002 "Dismantling the Master's House with the Master's Tools? Gender Work in and Powerful Bureaucracies". In Feminist Post-Development Thought. Rethinking Modernity, Post-Colonialism and Representation. Kriemild Saunders, ed. London and New York : Zed Books, Pp. 57-68.
Wangari, Esther 2002 "Reproductive Technologies. A Third World Feminist Perspective". In Feminist Post-Development Thought . Rethinking Modernity, Post-Colonialism and Representation. Kriemild Saunders, ed. London and New York : Zed Books, Pp. 298-312.
Recommended:
Hartcourt, Wendy 2002 "Body Politics. Revisiting the Population Question". In Feminist Post-Development Thought . Rethinking Modernity, Post-Colonialism and Representation. Kriemild Saunders, ed. London and New York : Zed Books, Pp. 283-297.
Nanda Meera 2002 "Do the Marginalized Valorize the Margins? Exploring the Dangers of Difference." In Feminist Post-Development Thought . Rethinking Modernity, Post-Colonialism and Representation. Kriemild Saunders, ed. London and New York : Zed Books, Pp. 212-223.
Frederique Apffel-Marglin and Loyda Sanchez 2002 "Developmentalist Feminism and Neocolonialism in Andean Communities" In Feminist Post-Development Thought . Rethinking Modernity, Post-Colonialism and Representation. Kriemild Saunders, ed. London and New York : Zed Books, Pp.159-179.

December 1, 3, 8, 10 Class presentations

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