TOPICS: AID, POWER, & INEQUALITY: AN ANTHRO. APPROACH in Fall 2026 (CM2091A)

This course critically examines international development and humanitarian aid as politically charged and culturally embedded practices rooted in colonial histories and global inequality. Challenging the dominant Global North model centered on economic growth and modernization, students engage with anthropological critiques that expose how development discourse obscures structural inequalities and power relations. Through case studies from the Global South, the course analyzes how diverse actors from state officials and NGO workers to aid recipients and activists experience and contest development interventions. Moving beyond critique, the course explores alternative visions grounded in participatory approaches, community-led initiatives, and indigenous epistemologies, examining how anthropology can contribute to more ethical and socially anchored practice.