Macquarie University

Development Studies: The Anthropology of International Aid - ANTH221

Based on lessons from practical experience in development programs, this unit seeks to address the common perception that even while delivering benefits to many in the developing world, foreign aid ‘could and should do better’. Students will come to understand donor-driven development as both a way of thinking and a set of practices that affect recipient populations in profound ways. We begin with theories of what makes 'development' take place. We examine different models for helping people in poor countries to show how the complexity of international and national relations at the macro-level and social relations at the micro-level makes this such a difficult process. We then explore specific themes in the contemporary practice of 'doing development' such as the changing rhetoric and practices of donor agencies, structural adjustment and China's increasing impact, debt crisis and poverty alleviation, NGOs and community empowerment, gender and social vulnerability, fair trade and sustainability, resettlement and social justice.