Development anthropology

Development anthropology refers to the application of anthropological perspectives to the multidisciplinary branch of development studies. It takes international development and international aid as primary objects. In this branch of anthropology, the term development refers to the social action made by different agents (e.g. institutions, businesses, states, or independent volunteers) who are trying to modify the economic, technical, political, or/and social life of a given place in the world, especially in impoverished, formerly colonized regions.

Development anthropologists share a commitment to simultaneously critique and contribute to projects and institutions that create and administer Western projects that seek to improve the economic well-being of the most marginalized, and to eliminate poverty. While some theorists distinguish between the anthropology of development (in which development is the object of study) and development anthropology (as an applied practice), this distinction is increasingly thought of as obsolete. With researches on the field, the anthropologist can describe, analyze, and understand the different actions of development that took and take place in a given place. The various impacts on the local population, environment, society, and economy are to be examined.

In 1971, Glynn Cochrane proposed development anthropology as a new field for practitioners interested in a career outside academia. Given the growing complexity of development assistance, Cochrane suggested that graduates needed to prepare themselves to work in interdisciplinary settings. In 1973, Cochrane was invited by the World Bank to make recommendations for the use of anthropology, and his report (which stressed the need for the systematic treatment of social issues) laid a foundation for future use of the discipline in the World Bank Group. Around ninety anthropologists are now employed by the World Bank Group in various roles.

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