Indigenous Anthropologists And Development Oriented Research

Development has too often failed to deliver on its promises to poor nations. The policies imposed from above by international agencies and state bodies have frequently not met the needs and aspirations of ordinary people. Development agencies have been searching for sometime for alternative approaches. One of those being pioneered is 'indigenous knowledge', which aims to make local voices heard more effectively. However while it is increasingly acknowledged in development contexts, it is yet to be validated and accepted by anthropologists. It is self-evident to any anthropologist that effective development assistance will benefit from some understanding of local knowledge and practices. This therefore puts anthropology and anthropologists at the centre of development. This volume focuses on two major issues that anthropology might profitably address. First of all how to define indigenous knowledge and who should define it as it currently lacks disciplinary coherence. Secondly once this definition is achieved what methodologies should be used in such an interdisciplinary research endeavour when it must meet the demands of development (cost- and time-effective, intelligible to non-experts) while not compromising anthropological expectations. The new opportunities and their methodological implications are addressed in the chapters of this book in a range of ethnographic and institutional contexts and demonstrate how wide-reaching and how crucially important this debate has become. Participating in Development is a thought provoking and challenge collection. Its authors both define and validate the role of the anthropologist in development as well of development in anthropology.

The essays in Anthropology, Public Policy, and Native Peoples in Canada provide a comprehensive evaluation of past, present, and future forms of anthropological involvement in public policy issues that affect Native peoples in Canada. The contributing authors, who include social scientists and politicians from both Native and non-Native backgrounds, use their experience to assess the theory and practice of anthropological participation in and observation of relations between aboriginal peoples and governments in Canada. They trace the strengths and weaknesses of traditional forms of anthropological fieldwork and writing, as well as offering innovative solutions to some of the challenges confronting anthropologists working in this domain. In addition to Noel Dyck and James Waldram, the contributing authors are Peggy Martin Brizinski, Julie Cruikshank, Peter Douglas Elias, Julia D. Harrison, Ron Ignace, Joseph M. Kaufert, Patricia Leyland Kaufert, William W. Koolage, John O'Neil, Joe Sawchuk, Colin H. Scott, Derek G. Smith, George Speck, Renee Taylor, Peter J. Usher, and Sally M. Weaver.

Environmentally Sustainable Development Studies and Monograph Series No. 3. A listing of works published by World Bank sociologists and anthropologists, this bibliography serves as a vehicle for exchanging experiences and promoting interdisciplinar

This collection offers the fruits of a stimulating workshop that sought to bridge the fraught relationship which sometimes continues between anthropologists and indigenous/native/aboriginal scholars, despite areas of overlapping interest. Participants from around the world share their views and opinions on subjects ranging from ideas for reconciliation, the question of what might constitute a universal "science," indigenous heritage, postcolonial museology, the boundaries of the term "indigeneity," different senses as ways of knowing, and the very issue of writing as a method of dissemination that divides and excludes readers from different backgrounds. This book represents a landmark step in the process of replacing bridges with more equal patterns of intercultural cooperation and communication.

With reference to Karnataka, India.

Regina Scheyvens and Donovan Storey draw upon a rich and diverse set of fieldwork experiences across the developing world, in both rural and urban settings, and utilize case studies to illustrate the many common issues and challenges that both new and experienced fieldwork researchers will face.