Nhân học phát triển tại Mỹ

Tóm tắt

Development anthropology or the use of anthropological knowledge and approach in development has a history of over 50 years. The creation of a subfield called development anthropology resulted from anthropologists' engagement in the political movement in the United States in the 1960s, the emergence of development institutions like the World Bank following World War II and subsequent actions aimed at the development of the third world. Positioned between powerful stakeholders in development and targeted beneficiaries, who are often passive in the process of development, many American development anthropologists decided to be on the side of the latter. This articles shows that engaging in development is a political act for many anthropologists. Equipped with unique approach and methods in anthropology, development anthropologists emphasize the need to inform the process of development with better understanding of the social organizations, values and belief systems of the "beneficiaries" in development. Development anthropologists have no doubt made significant contribution to an overall more participatory and bottom-up approach to development.