ANT 224 Anthropology of Development

Professor Daniel Reichman

University of Rochester
Lattimore 439
daniel.reichman@rochester.edu
Tuesday, Thursday 2:00-3:15 in Dewey 2110E
Professor Reichman's Office Hours: Wednesday 9:30-11:30 and by
appointment

This course examines anthropology's contributions to the development

endeavor since World War II. This course integrates classic political economy
with contemporary theories of development, underdevelopment, and
sustainability. We will also focus on anthropology's critique of development
institutions and the diverse roles played by indigenous peoples in
contemporary development projects.
This course will focus on the following questions: How can we reconcile
economic growth with economic justice, environmental sustainability, and
cultural/political autonomy? Does "progress" favor certain classes and exploit
others? Should developed countries be seen as a model for other nations to
follow? Is any universal concept of development contrary to the goals of
anthropology? Is development an inherently problematic concept?
Grades are based on the following:
One double-spaced 5 page essay in 12 point font (25%)
Class attendance and participation (15% total).
Six Course Blog Entries: You are required to post to the blog on Blackboard at
least 6 times over the course of the semester (no more than once per week).
Blog posts should be 200-400 words and engage directly with the readings
and films assigned during that week. Your post should include commentary,
thoughts, criticism or reflections on the assigned material. You may also
include links to relevant articles, videos, etc. Those links do not count
towards the word count. (35%)
Take Home Final Exam, Essay Based (25%). Due on Blackboard Wednesday
May 9, 11:59 PM.
The essays will be graded on organization, style, and content. I emphasize
clear writing, logical organization of arguments, and the judicious use of
evidence from course materials. You are encouraged to include your own
opinions in these essays. Feel free to challenge the opinions of the professor
and the authors of the readings, supporting your arguments with factual
evidence. The best essays develop a clear argument and refute alternative
perspectives, explaining why one interpretation is better than another.

Merely summarizing the arguments of the professor or the authors of

readings is not enough to ensure a high grade.

Note on sources
You must cite any quotation taken from another text, as well as any argument
taken from another text. If you are citing from an assigned article, you do not
need to include it in a bibliography. You may simply cite it parenthetically,
with a page number--for example: (Gupta, 212). However, you may want to
include a bibliography for future reference. All non-assigned texts must be
included in a bibliography.
Many students rely on online sources for information. These vary greatly in
quality and reliability. Wikipedia has become a go-to source for many
students. Wikipedia is a fine place to start a research project, but the
information you get from Wikipedia must lead you to other peer-reviewed
sources that you can cite in a paper (books, academic journals, major
newspapers, etc). Under no circumstances can you cite Wikipedia (or similar
websites that aggregate information from Wikipedia) in a paper. If you have a
question about the acceptability of a source, please contact me.
For citations, follow the Chicago Manual of Style's Author-Date System.
Available online at:
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
Students are expected to follow university policies on academic
honesty. See
http://www.rochester.edu/College/honesty/students.html for
information about plagiarism and academic honesty.
I will be happy to discuss how to document sources with you during my office
hours (in fact, I'm happy to discuss anything with you during office hours).
These issues are far easier to explain in person versus over email. Please do
not email me with specific questions about citations. Come to office hours!
DON'T PLAGIARIZE. SERIOUSLY. EVERY SEMESTER SINCE I HAVE BEEN AT
ROCHESTER, I HAVE CAUGHT BETWEEN 1-5 PLAGIARISTS. THE PUNISHMENTS
HAVE RANGED FROM A ZERO ON THE ASSIGNMENT TO GETTING KICKED OUT
OF SCHOOL. I DON'T DECIDE THE PUNISHMENT. IT IS UP TO THE COLLEGE
BOARD ON ACADEMIC HONESTY.
Expectations for Written Work
Hard copies of all papers must be handed in in-class. On some occasions, I
may ask you to submit assignments on Blackboard.

Staple or paper-clip your assignments and number the pages! I will

not accept papers without page numbers and pages attached by a
clip or staple!!! Why? Because I will lose the loose pages!
I will lower the grade of late papers according to the following schedule:
1 day lateOne half a grade (B+ to B, for example
2-3 days lateOne letter grade (B to C, for example)
Papers more than three days late will not be accepted.
Please let me know if you have a documented disability that requires
special care. I will try to accommodate your needs in accordance
with college policy.
Texts:
Brown, Michael 2001. Who Owns Native Culture? Cambridge, MA: Harvard
Cowen, Tyler 2002 Creative Destruction Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press
Kottak, Conrad 2004 Assault on Paradise: Social Change in a Brazilian Village.
New York: McGraw Hill
Kymlicka, Will 2007 Multicultural Odysseys. New York: Oxford U. Press.
Mill, John Stuart. 2006 [1856] On Liberty. New York Penguin.
All other readings are available on Blackboard
Schedule:
Theme 1: Progress, Tradition, and Cultural Difference
Week 1
1/15: Course intro. Begin Avatar.
Week 2
1/20: Finish Avatar at home.
Read David Brooks, "The White Messiah"
1/22: Kayapo Out of the Forest in class. Read National Geographic
article on Kayapo
Week 3
1/27: More Kayapo film.
Read: Read. Terence Turner, "The Social Skin"

1/29. Read: Terence Turner, "Representing, Resisting, Rethinking:

Historical Transformations of Kayapo Culture and Anthropological
Consciousness".
Week 4
2/3: Read. Bruno Barras "Life Projects: Development Our Way"
Mario Blaser "'Way of Life' or 'Who Decides': Development, Paraguayan
Indigenism and the Yshiro People's Life Projects" from In the Way of
Development
2/5: Begin J.S.Mill. "On Liberty"
Key themes: Liberalism and individual rights vs. collective cultural
rights
Week 5
2/10: J.S. Mill continued
2/12: Read. Stuart Kirsch, "Lost Worlds: Environmental Disaster,
"Culture Loss," and the
Law"
Key Theme: The use and abuse of traditions and the concept of
"cultural property"
Week 6
2/17: Read Marshall Sahlins. "Goodbye to Tristes Tropes"
2/19: Michael Brown, Chapters TBA
Key theme: Strategic essentialism and legal treatments of
cultural property
Week 7
2/24: Michael Brown, continued.
2/26: Read Will Kymlicka Part II, 61-135.
Key theme: Liberal Multiculturalism, diversity as a human right
Week 8
3/3: Kymlicka, continued.
3/5: Cultural Anthropology articles on Avatar.
Key theme: Sovereignty and the critique of liberalism

Spring Break
THEME II: MODERNIZATION, CAPITALISM, GLOBALIZATION
Week 9
3/17: Film Cadillac Desert. Part 1
3/29: Paper 1 Due.
Week 10
3/24:Read Kottak
4/2: Read Kottak
Key themes: Non-capitalist economies and the transition to
modernity
Week 11
4/7: Read Cowen.
4/9: Cowen, 4-Conclusion
Key themes: Mass media, globalization, and cultural
homogenization
Week 12
4/14: View Cadillac Desert II. Read. Greg Easterbrook, "A Forgotten
Benefactor of Humanity"
4/16: James Scott, Compulsory Villagization in Tanzania
Key theme: Modernization and applied technology
Week 13:
4/21: Read Ron Herring, The genomics revolution and development
studies: Science, poverty and politics
4/23: Read Norman Uphoff Agroecological Alternatives: Capitalising on
Existing Genetic Potentials
Key theme: Productivity, science, and sustainability
Week 13
4/28: William Loker, Sowing Discord, Planting Doubt: Rhetoric and
Reality in an Environment and Development Project in Honduras
4/30: Read: James Ferguson
Key theme: Bureaucracy and the state

Week 14: 4/29 Course wrap up. Final exam assignment given.