An Anthropological critique of development
Subtitle: the growth of ignorance
By: edited by Mark Hobart.
Contributors: Hobart, Mark.
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 1993
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 246
Subjects: Acculturation; Intercultural communication; Technical assistance -- Anthropological aspects; Economic development -- Social aspects; Knowledge, Sociology of
Description: This provocative volume, the latest in the EIDOS series, debunks the assumption that the application of Western knowledge in the implementation of economic and social development is an unqualified success. The author argues that it is unacceptable to dismiss problems encountered by development projects as the result of an inadequate implementation of knowledge. Rather, it suggests that failures stem from the constitution of knowledge and its object. By focusing on the ways in which agency in development is attributed to experts, thereby turning previously active participants into passive subjects or ignorant objects, the contributors claim that the hidden agenda to the aims of educating and improving the lives of those in the undeveloped world ultimately perpetuates ignorance.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and indexes.